And the community can see that we’re doing what we said we would do.” Zana Kontomanoli A morning stroll at the port in Naousa. It’s not some colonialist project – the team working for Paros is based on Paros. The project lead for Clean Blue Paros, Zana Kontomanoli, explained before I even got to the island that that’s a big part of why it’s working: (Paros has about 13,000 residents who live on the island year-around. That’s because, on a Greek island that looks as much like a postcard as Paros does, almost everything is tourist-facing.
So Clean Blue Paros is actually a multifaceted, community-based sustainability program that just happens to have one aspect that feels like it’s for tourists – those Clean Blue Paros businesses, which are almost all hotels and restaurants. Lots of local kids to teach about plastic pollution (one reason Paros makes a good island for the Clean Blue Alliance). (Not just a destination to promote as a plastic-free island to travelers, but a place to teach school kids about the process.) And they needed a local government that actually wanted to work with a foreign organization. When Common Seas was shopping for an island for the Clean Blue Alliance, they wanted a place with year-around residents. That’s where it gets interesting, because the second thing to know about Paros is that it chose itself to be the guinea pig for this plastic-free project, and it didn’t volunteer just for the tourists. In 2018 they were looking for an island where they could foster a pilot program that would experiment with fighting plastic pollution in the Mediterranean and reducing dependence on single-use plastics. It all started with a British social enterprise called Common Seas. The first thing to know about Paros as a “plastic-free island” is that it’s a work in progress. Who would choose this place to turn into a plastic-free island? Getting to Know Clean Blue Paros I had some version of this conversation so many times, I started to wonder if I was missing something.Īnd after my first night and first plastic-rich meal, my confidence wasn’t exactly restored. A place where travelers – both Greek and international – go to soak up the summer sun and drink beers on the beach from plastic cups.Īnd they looked at me like I was from another planet when I said I was going at the end of autumn to experience an island that was becoming plastic-free. Almost everyone I’d talked to about Paros before I arrived described it as a party island. But the olive oil arrived in a handful of single-serve plastic bottles, like perfume samples at a department store. No complaints about the hearty, whole-wheat Greek bread (which became a staple of my diet on Paros). But the waiter cautioned against tap water. It was a good casual spot to wash away the travel day, starting out with bread and olive oil, draft beers and water. If not, check out my travel guide to Paros for everything you need to plan a trip!Īs the sun set, we headed out for dinner at a random restaurant on the beach in Aliki, a fishing village on Paros’ southern coast that’s retained a local feel on an increasingly touristic island. Have you been to Paros? If so, please help Clean Blue Paros by filling out this survey.