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REMEDIES Plastic Lab Santorini Handbook
Summary
A hands-on project on the Greek island of Santorini is teaching locals, kids, and fishers how to sort, shred, and remake plastic waste into new useful items, instead of letting it pile up or wash into the ocean. This matters because less plastic trash in the environment means less of it breaking down into microplastics that can end up in seafood, drinking water, and eventually our bodies. The project also encourages people to simply use less plastic in the first place, since recycling alone can't solve the pollution problem.
REMEDIES is a Horizon Europe Innovation Action under the EU Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters. The project addresses plastic pollution through three connected areas of work: monitoring plastic litter, collecting and valorising plastic waste, and preventing the use and spread of non-degradable plastics. The Plastic Lab in Santorini brings these areas together through a practical learning experience in which locally relevant plastic waste becomes a material for sorting, small-scale processing, design, making and discussion. Within the REMEDIES work plan, the Plastic Lab is primarily connected to collection and valorisation. Work Package 2, Task 2.5 on plastic litter valorisation includes small-scale recycling workshops using decentralised, open-source approaches such as shredding, small-scale injection moulding and related fabrication methods. Santorini forms part of the Cyclades demonstration area where this approach was implemented. The project also links clean-up activities with valorisation workshops so that collected material can feed into learning, reuse and circular practices.The Plastic Lab also supports prevention. Recycling is presented as one part of a wider response to plastic pollution, alongside reducing unnecessary plastic use, choosing alternative materials and reconsidering consumption habits. Participants learn how selected plastics can be collected and reused while also discussing how plastic use can be reduced or avoided in the future.Citizen engagement is central to the Plastic Lab. Children, schools, local residents, fishers, port professionals and visiting university groups take part through learning, observation, practical making, discussion and feedback. The format connects material knowledge with local environmental action, creative participation and community dialogue.