Croatia's islands are well known for their beauty, but, as the rest of the world, they have succumbed to plastic pollution. Cigarette butt is the second most frequent item found when conducting marine litter monitorings. They present threats on many fronts: pollution by nicotine and tar, plastic and microplastic as well as doing economical damages. We want to target that problem by putting paper ashtray dispensers on islands Silba and Ist. We also aim to encourage civic engagement in locals.

Silba, Northern Dalmatia, Croatia

One of the greatest challenges on the islands Silba and Ist is the litter problem. This project aims to tackle this problem by raising awareness through social inclusion and innovation, but also through a meeting with decision-makers. One way of raising awareness is having underwater and beach clean-ups and showing the public that the problem isn't somewhere else, but right under their noses. The other is having put up the paper ashtray dispensers on various locations on the islands to induce a change in perception of people - throwing cigarette butts irresponsibly in the environment is not socially acceptable behaviour and is causing a lot of damage to nature and the economy.

Target groups are older population, which is set in their ways on one side, and youth, which is trying to set a new direction for the islands on the other side. Silba has around 300 inhabitants during colder season, but during the summer there is around 3000 people on the island. Ist has around 200 inhabitants during colder season and around 1000 people during summer. That puts a lot of pressure on both islands during summer months and waste management becomes a great challenge. We are trying to unite both sides to influence the decision-makers and be a part of the solution.

There will be total three partner meetings on the islands and three meetings with the locals. The meetings with the locals will include older population, youth and elementary school pupils. They will all first get a presentation about the waste problem and then have a dialogue in what could be done to solve the problem.
Then, an underwater and beach clean-up will be organized on both islands, marine litter analyzed, so the locals see what is going on in their environment. They will notice a lot of cigarette butts on the beaches and that will be introduced as a growing problem on the second meeting. All arrangements for the round table will be made after the second meeting. During the round table, representatives of the local island communities will have a voice in front of public bodies (the City of Zadar, Zadar County and Zadar County waste management company).
Finally, portable paper ashtray dispensers will be put up in 7 locations in Silba and 3 locations in Ist.
The third meeting will be to summarize the project activities and improvements made in the society.

At the end of the project phase there will be in total 10 paper ashtray dispensers set up on the islands Silba and Ist. Two beaches and the surrounding underwater area will be cleaned up and a lot of plastic litter will not be made into microplastics. Most importantly, the locals will be encouraged to take action and practice democracy to have their voice heard. The elementary school pupils will participate in civic action and that will empower them to take a stance on urgent matters that concern them and their local community. They will feel less isolated. The generation gap will be bridged through a common problem and a joined quest for a solution.

The local communities will get actively involved in a social issue after receiving informal education about marine litter and the problems in their communities. They will first have a voice in the comfort of their own local communities, where they will practice democracy with their friends and acquaintances. They will further contribute to strengthening active citizenship by participating at the round table with the public bodies. At the round table will be a moderator from the project team and he/she will ensure that all sides are heard and responded to.

The project team comprises of 7 people familiar with and attached to the islands Silba and Ist, hoping to make changes in the local island communities. Project manager Sanja (Society 20000 Leagues) is a marine biologist and a biology teacher, who has gained various skills in coordinating volunteers, organizing underwater and beach clean-ups and developing new and innovative ideas in the fight against plastic pollution, mainly in Silba. Project administrator is a student Marta (Society 20000 Leagues), who is gaining skills and experience through projects tackling pollution problem. Two of the team members are from Partner 1 organisation, two are from Partner 2 organisation and one is a biology teacher in the elementary school (Partner 3). All of them are enthusiastic in bringing change.

Personnel costs = 8000 EUR
Travel expenses = 3600 EUR
Food expenses = 660 EUR
Graphic design expenses = 850 EUR
Promotional expenses = 1400 EUR
Office expenses = 140 EUR
Clean-ups expenses = 1300 EUR
Paper ashtray dispensers expenses = 5100 EUR

We would like to hear constructive criticism from other members of the platform.