The Plastic Pirates Egypt have started their first sampling campaign along the Nile River in August, carried out by youth groups in the governorates of Fayoum, Assiut, Luxor, Giza, and Cairo. Around 100 young people were actively participating in five samplings and helped to gather the corresponding data sets. The initiative increased awareness of plastic pollution and the dangers of single-use plastics and is expected to lead to more sustainable behaviours among the participants.
Plastic Pirates Egypt is a collaborative initiative between the BETA Technological Center in Spain (as part of Plastic Pirates Spain) and the Arab Office for Youth and Environment (AOYE) in Egypt, supported by the Plastic Pirates – Go Europe! project. The initiative aims to raise public awareness of plastic pollution in the Mediterranean by engaging young people in monitoring and addressing this issue in local water bodies.
Several activities were conducted to achieve this goal, including coordination meetings to plan the project, translating key materials into Arabic, and providing sampling and promotional materials such as measuring tapes, scales, microplastic nets, T-shirts, and caps for participants. An online training session on the Plastic Pirates methodology was held in July.
