Problem Statement

Mar del Plata, is a coastal city covering 47.000 metres of Argentine shoreline. As our beaches are our main attraction, these lead to a large amount of waste accumulated on the beaches regardless of the time of the year and it contributes to their pollution. Besides, our landfill is about to collapse so we have to reduce the amount of waste that ends up there.

Also, there is currently no existing initiative to recycle styrofoam-one of the most harmful garbage found-.

Target Group

Our project’s target group is composed of the citizens that usually go to our beach and fisheries species that live on our ocean.

Proposed Solution

We want to contribute to solve the biggest problem that our beaches are suffering from and that harms our environment.

We came up with the idea to not only recycle the styrofoam, but also to reduce the amount of cigarette butts that contaminate our beaches. We want to recycle styrofoam in order to make personal beach ashtrays. We view this as a perfect way to reach our final goal of reducing waste on our beaches and recycling an ex-waste.

In order to so, we will be using one of the most found waste in our city (styrofoam) to reduce the first most found waste in our beaches (cigarette butts).

Hub Activities

During the last months, we have carried out the following activities

• Organizing Beach Cleanups (with 20 environmental organizations)


• Social-media campaign about the beach cleanups and ask citizens for styrofoam


• Collect styrofoam from citizens and from the beach (more than 100 pieces of used-styrofoam were collected)


• Work at the lab to search the best way to recycle styrofoam


• Design the shape of the personal ashtrays

All these activities are going to help us achieve our goals.

Short-Term Goals

• Engage locals citizens and environmental organizations for beach cleanups and collect styrofoam and cigarette butts.


• We have made three beach cleanups, with +100 participants and collected +100 pieces of styrofoam donated by citizens.


• Develop an easy lab method to recycle styrofoam into ashtrays. We have made progress in developing our prototype. Create appealing ashtrays from recycled styrofoam to promote responsible beach behavior. We have one first 3D model printed.


• Strengthen partnerships with local organizations.

Long-Term Goals (when we have our final ashtray)

• Reduce styrofoam and cigarette butt litter on beaches.


• Encourage smokers to use ashtrays.


• Raise awareness through media and workshops about wastes and their recycling.


• Share this model for waste reduction with other coastal communities from our country and others.


• With an easy recycling method, other communities could adapt this idea and make other items that are more suitable for their project and their communities.

Desired outcomes

• Cleaner shorelines, less styrofoam, and reduction of cigarette butts pollution.


• Enhanced environmental organizations and increased community involvement


• Waste reduction on our landfill and in our oceans.


• High grade of acceptance of our ashtrays


• Have an easy styrofoam recycling method to share and to be replicated worldwide.

Available Metrics

• Number of people who donated styrofoam


• Amount of styrofoam that does not ended in the landfill


• Number of people who came to our beach cleanups


• Quantity of styrofoam collected and recycled


• Level of acceptance of the personal ashtrays


• Amount of cigarettes butts that doesn’t end on the beach

Collaborators

This project was born out as an application to the “Under the Starry Sky” program of the WFUNA (World Federation of United Nations Associations). This project has been selected as one of the top fifteen of a three thousand applications worldwide. During the program, we have attended training regarding managment and monthly checkings with the WFUNA staff that helped us to develop and advance on our project. We are currently collaborating with INTEMA, a local scientific research institution. Besides, there are other organizations that have been helping us during the beach cleaning; for example: BeeReal, Embajadores Verdes, the Local Government, among many other