Clean up of Cala di Mitigliano

As March started, we were blessed with beautiful, calm, sunny weather, and what can be better on a day like that than to go out in the world and make a difference. On Thursday, 4th of March 2021, our M.A.R.E. team went on another beach clean up mission. This time, we chose a new location: Cala di Mitigliano. A quite remote place, accessible by the water or by foot. It has a rocky beach, with clear, transparent water that mesmerises, a calm atmosphere and a stunning view on a Capri Island.

Cala di Mitigliano is quite small and it is an inlet between Punta Baccoli and Fossa Papa. It is one of the most pleasant of the ones in the territory of the Marine Protected Area of Punta Campanella, and it is under C-type zoning. To reach it by foot, the not very demanding path starts in Termini, Piazza Santa Croce. We decided to visit Cala di Mitigliano by kayak, starting from Marina della Lobra.

Upon arrival, at a first glance, the beach looked clean. After disembarking from the kayak, and walking a bit further into the rocks, we started to notice piles of plastic, mostly plastic water bottles, some detergent bottles and occasionally flip-flops. A moment later, we saw enormous amounts of polystyrene, hidden in between rocks. Our team did the best we could to collect as much as possible, but unfortunately, some plastic was dead-stuck between heavy, steady rocks. Before we came, we thought we will collect one-two bags maximum and bring them back with us on a kayak, but we ended up with six full bags! We decided to leave them far from the reach of the sea, and organise a boat to arrive and collect them another day.

As usual, seeing such amounts of plastic and polystyrene pollution makes us sad and think how much more of it is on the other beaches and in our seas. We make a small change, and we invite you to do the same! Please, whenever you can, try to reduce your plastic consumption, purchase a reusable bottle, do not leave the trash in any, especially remote places. Our sea is ill now, and it needs help. The future is in our hands and each of us can make a big difference!

Take care of yourself, the people around you and our planet, and ci vediamo on our next clean up!