June 24, 2022

MEDITERRANEAN PLASTIC SMART CITIES CONVENE IN VENICE

Plastic Smart Cities across the Mediterranean region convened in Venice, Italy in June 2022, to exchange best practices, lessons learned, and strategies deployed to combat the growing plastic waste stream that threatens coastal ecosystems across the Mediterranean.

WWF representatives along with city officials arrived in Venice for a two-day exchange on June 22-23, including site visits across the city and to the Veritas waste sorting site at Sacca Fisola island.

The two-day event was designed with the intent to:

• Strengthen the network among Mediterranean PSC cities;
• Present objectives and key achievements of Plastic Smart Cities globally and in the Mediterranean; and
• Discuss and exchange best practices & potential increase of activities for cities, tourism operators and citizens to reduce plastic use, increase waste management and prevent marine litter.

Event participants reiterated the important role cities play in driving national policies, as well as serving as powerful laboratories for solutions that can be scaled up and replicated across national territories. Cities around the world are facing very similar challenges and can increase collaboration and exchanges - highlighting a valuable role for the PSC initiative.

The event also spawned key ideas and initiatives for collaboration that will follow, including new guidelines for plastic smart public events, tourism sector engagements and new avenues for the exchange of information concerning emerging solutions in the waste management sector. The event is hopefully a model for other collaborations and information exchanges to come.

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