Italy rolls out tobacco‑butt cleanup and ocean‑research broadcast for World Environment and Ocean Days
On 6 June, volunteers, citizens and local authorities in Tuscany took part in a national “Plastic Free” campaign to collect discarded cigarette filters, which are a major source of micro‑plastics. The event, coordinated by the non‑profit Plastic Free Onlus, started in Santa Croce sull’Arno and continued in Florence, highlighting that a single filter can pollute up to 1 000 litres of water.
Two days later, on 8 June, the University of Siena’s ecology professor Maria Cristina Fossi presented the European “Miramardi” project on the RAI programme “Casa Italia”. The broadcast marked World Ocean Day and aimed to raise awareness of marine‑ecosystem pressures, linking the discussion to the UN BBNJ Agreement for ocean biodiversity protection.