Teams Collect Waste to Clean Italian Shores

Cleaning teams participated in a seabed and shoreline cleaning challenge on June 9 in various locations in Italy. This was the sixth year of Spazzapnea — Operation Clean Beaches and Seabeds, which divides participants into teams to compete to collect the most waste by either freediving or walking along the shore. 

In 2024, Sculati & Partners, a communications and press office agency, competed in Genoa. In total, participants collected 1,400 kilograms of waste just from the Genoa area, with Sculati & Partners’ Maria Villarreal, Ilaria Parigi, and Camilla Melinossa collecting five kilograms together.

“We at Sculati & Partners have decided to support them in friendship to help give maximum visibility to the competition because we believe it is our duty, as we work ‘in close contact with the sea,’ to take care of the environment and support events like this,” said Silvia Montagna at Sculati & Partners. “Our S&P team also participated with enthusiasm by making a small but important contribution!”

In total, the 2024 event amassed 5,151 kilograms of waste from the seven locations in Italy. The collected waste was sorted, weighed, and cataloged, receiving scores based on the harm posed to the marine environment and decomposition times. 

These findings are also included in a Citizen Science SeaCleaner national database that maps waste, and starting this year, Spazzapnea ODV will collaborate on the Citizen Science “Cupid 4Science” project to study sea cleaning’s effects on microplastics. 

“On one hand, we are proud to support such an important project, capable of making a difference to our fragile marine ecosystems,” a statement from Sculati & Partners said. “On the other hand, the impressive result of the collection should serve as a warning to all of us about how much work still needs to be done in terms of fostering a culture of respect for our ecosystem.”