The “Typhoon” that saves the Greek coasts from garbage

A “Typhoon” sweeps the Greek coasts, taking with it garbage and waste, from Styrofoam and small pieces of plastic, to entire fishing nets, huge tires and entire household appliances.

This is the 72-meter operational ship that for six years has literally “washed away” pollution from the country’s beaches, in order to free them from this toxic load and restore them to their pristine natural state.

The “Typhoon” of the Athanasios K. Public Benefit Foundation Laskaridis is the spearhead of the “Typhoon Project”, which was launched in 2019 with the aim of cleaning the entire Greek coastline and making the beaches cleaner for residents and visitors of the country.

To date, it has cleaned over 3,748 beaches, collected over 17.8 million pieces of waste, and removed 768 tons of garbage, amounting to 35,670 cubic meters.

Indicative of this enormous mass of waste that has been accumulated is the fact that, as reflected in graphs published by the Foundation, the total amount of garbage collected by December 2024 exceeds in volume well-known European monuments - such as Big Ben, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and "our" White Tower - clearly showing the extent of pollution on the Greek coasts.

The footprint of the "Typhon" project was evident from the second cycle of repeated cleanings that began in February 2023, since the same coasts that it cleaned for the second time showed an impressive improvement rate, on average, 80%.

The second visit of the "Typhoon" took place in the following areas: Crete, the Cyclades (Kea, Kythnos, Serifos, Sifnos, Milos, Kimolos, Polyegos, Sikinos, Amorgos, Santorini, Iraklia, Schinoussa, Ios, Kato Koufonissi and Paros-Antiparos), Skiathos, Thassos, the Ionian (Ithaca, Kefalonia, Lefkada, Zakynthos, Corfu, Paxos-Antipaxos), the Argosaronic (Dokos, Spetses, Hydra, Aegina, Agios Georgios, Patroklos) and the Peloponnese (Messinia, Laconia, Argolida, Arcadia).

“Typhoon” recently completed its second round of cleanups on the Athos peninsula, Mount Athos, where it showed an 88% improvement rate of the coasts. Its journey continues to Lemnos – a landmark island for the program, since in the past its team remained there for 122 days.

In addition to the direct cleaning of the coasts, the “Typhoon Project” has revealed a valuable wealth of data. All waste is weighed, recorded, and included in a database maintained by the Foundation. This database, which is among the most complete internationally, has already attracted the interest of the scientific community, with collaborations such as those with the Universities of Patras and the Aegean, the Technical University of Crete, and soon with Imperial College London.

The Athanasios K. Public Benefit Foundation Laskaridis Foundation was created in 2016 with the aim of acting as a catalyst on important issues concerning Greece and Hellenism. Its activities focus on environmental protection, strengthening employment and micro-entrepreneurship, as well as supporting actions for the common good.

The Foundation has an “umbrella” of programs that address marine and terrestrial pollution, support academic research, promote awareness of the need to protect the environment, and educate young people.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report