Divers pull out 15 tons of waste in underwater clean-up on Vis island

Divers from a Croatian scuba diving club have pulled out nearly 15 tons of waste in an underwater clean-up operation on the Adriatic island of Vis, including the metal superstructure of a vessel, parts of sewerage pipes, bicycles, car batteries, construction waste, plastics, and truck tires.

As part of the club’s 22^nd Think Green operation, some 60 divers cleaned up waste from under the sea along the Vis town’s waterfront, as well as in the ferry port and at a nearby beach. Aside from the waste pulled from sea, the volunteers also collected six tons of dumped tires and large home appliances, as well as 1,000 liters of waste oil around the island.

The club has been organizing Think Green clean-ups for 10 years

The diving club, called Roniti se mora, has been organizing Think Green clean-up operations for 10 years now, removing waste from the Adriatic Sea as well as rivers and lakes throughout Croatia. Apart from cleaning up the environment, the efforts also help raise environmental awareness and highlight the problem of pollution.

Photo: Roniti se mora

For the first time, this year’s clean-up involved the disposal of collected waste. In partnership with C.I.O.S. Group, which provided logistic support, all the waste collected during the clean-up was shipped off the island and properly disposed of, the organizers said.

This year’s clean-up involved full waste disposal

The three-day operation on Vis was supported by the Croatian Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, National Geographic Croatia, C.I.O.S., the British Embassy, and other partners.

In one of the previous operations, the divers cleaned up Lake Jarun in the Croatian capital, removing large quantities of waste, mostly glass and plastic packaging, but also tires, audio speakers, carpets, etc.