Over the past 30 years, there has been a drastic increase in plastic production.

Ocean plastic pollution has become one of the biggest concern of modern society since plastic makes 60%-80% and 90%-95% in some specific areas of the total marine debris worldwide.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, 2017) an estimated 4.8-12.7 million tons of plastic are introduced into the oceans each year.

The plastic at sea is already a big issue by itself, but its fragmentation into smaller pieces down to the size of micro-nanoplastic is the real danger because of its possibility of entering the life cycle of marine animals, as has already been scientifically confirmed.

It is already well known that several marine organisms consumed as food by humans ingest microplastics, and the consequences are underestimated.

Every plastic fragment that ends up in the sea will remain where it is because of the absence of established cleaning systems.

CUPID 4 SCIENCE aims to study if the clearing of underwater plastic done by divers can be a way to maintain cleanliness in the selected marine areas.

Rely on people struck by Cupid’s arrow

Small actions conducted by the general public could be the winning weapon against microplastics. That is why the CUPID 4 SCIENCE project bets on citizen science.

Study the impact that underwater clean-up activities have on the amount of microplastics collected at various depths and within coastal ecosystems.

Study the application of dedicated filters to reduce and limit the amount of microplastics dispersed in the sea.

Recording data on plastic removal in the Web Portal aims to enhance awareness of plastic waste management and support stakeholders in implementing effective strategies for sustainable practices.

is the motto of

By reducing the release of microplastics through effective actions

By carrying out regular underwater clean-up activities, done by volunteer divers

By applying fixed and mobile filters in the drains entering the harbours and on the boats stationed in the ports

Site identification: where to repeat, over time, plastic and microplastic clearing by Citizen Science

Water and sediment sampling to quantify the presence of microplastics at various depths has the following objectives:

• Monitoring the impact and effectiveness of Citizen Science’s projects on the presence of microplastics
• Monitoring the presence of microplastics at various depths

Clearing the selected areas

Waste cataloguing and storage

Upload data on the Web Portal

The project’s purpose is also to apply fixed and mobile filters to capture microplastics:

On the waterfront discharges of infrastructure (ports, seaside activities, seaside houses)

On washing machines designed to reduce microplastics released from synthetic clothes

That don’t reach the ocean, lingering in rivers

On the boats stationed in the ports

On the boats that regularly pass docks

Dispersed in the sea in the concerned areas

Upload to the Web Portal all the environmental data collected by divers, freedivers and snorkelers to monitor the impact of the project itself and make them available to:

• Citizens, administrations, private companies

• International scientific community

• Awareness campaigns and education projects

• Identification of sites

• Sampling collection

• Clearing microplastic both underwater and on shore in selected areas

• Application of filters on ports and boats

• Microplastic analysis

• Web portal upload data

• Dissemination