Armonia Beach in Agios Tychonas to be awarded with the ‘Plastic Free Beach’ label. The 5th beach to join the ‘Plastic Free Beach’ Network.

Visitors to Armonia Beach in Limassol will have the opportunity to contribute to the reduction of plastic pollution through simple daily habits, offering a harmonious coexistence between humans and the natural environment. At the beach, actions are to be implemented to encourage and facilitate the visitors to avoid the consumption of single-use plastics.

The awarding of the distinction to the Community Council of Agios Tychonas will take place on Saturday, 16 September 2023 from 10:15 am to 1:00 pm. The Award Ceremony and Launch event will also include a Live Link with Sfera FM, competitions related to plastic pollution with special prizes, upcycling workshops, music and fun.

Some of the actions that are to be implemented on the beach include the installation of a water station offering free, cold and filtered water, a smoking area, an artwork made from 300 plastic caps created by students from the Petrou & Pavlou High School in Limassol, informative and awareness signs and more.

The ‘Plastic Free Beach’ is to be implemented with the valuable funding from the Andrey & Julia Dashin’s Foundation as the main sponsor along with the support of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, the Office of the Environment Commissioner, the Cyprus Environment Foundation and the Agios Tychonas Community Council. The ‘Plastic Free Beach’ concept is an idea of the ‘Keep Our Sand and Sea Plastic Free, Destination Zero Plastic in Cyprus’ Project. The Project aims to bring together tourists, tourism businesses and residents to cut consumption of single-use plastic in coastal regions so that less plastic ends up in the sea reducing plastic pollution. It is an initiative of the TUI Care Foundation in partnership with the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Initiative (CSTI).

According to Andrey Dashin, Founder of the Andrey & Julia Dashin’s Foundation: ‘Plastic pollution presents a serious threat to biodiversity, particularly for marine life as it can be easily ingested. It blocks natural waterways and pollutes the sea. By recycling, reusing, and reducing the amount of plastic waste we produce, we are helping to build a more sustainable future for our future generation. At Andrey & Julia Dashin’s Foundation, we encourage every citizen of our beautiful island to join us in our efforts to keep our sand and sea plastic-free. Be part of the solution, not the pollution!’

‘The impact of plastic pollution, both on marine life and human health, is a fact. More and more research studies are demonstrating the magnitude of the problem with the most recent one demonstrating microplastics even in the hearts of patients undergoing surgery’ says the Project Manager of the ‘Keep our Sand and Sea Plastic Free’, Panagiota Koutsofta. And she continues: ‘The need for immediate action to reduce plastic pollution is imperative, and the actions we are implementing at ‘Plastic Free Beaches’ contribute to this goal.’

‘As a foundation it is our priority to support actions that protect and restore the natural environment of Cyprus. We are excited to be supporting the ‘Plastic Free Beach’ Initiative and work with CSTI, helping reduce plastic waste locally. To achieve sustainable waste management on our island it is our priority to encourage more actions alike’ as per Sofia Matsi, Executive Director of the Cyprus Environment Foundation.

Philippos Drousiotis, Chairman of CSTI is quoted as saying, ‘At CSTI we always believe in teamwork and this project is the result of a great synergy between CSTI, the TUI Care Foundation, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, the Commissioner of the Environment, the Cyprus Environment Foundation, (CEF), the Andrey & Julia Dashin’s Foundation and the Community Council of Agios Tychonas. Together in the CSTI Team Spirit we stand! As Helen Keller correctly put it: Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. ‘