The Municipality of Cascais has been promoting a proactive policy on the environment and solid waste recycling for many years, and has taken several steps to mitigate the harmful impact of plastic, particularly in the marine environment. For 20 years, Cascais has been developing the MarŽ Viva Programme involving around 850 young volunteers per year, to ensure among other tasks the cleanliness of the 17 beaches of the municipality during the summer months.
The main objectives of this project are to:
- alert the population to the problem of maritime pollution and its consequences;
- raise public awareness of the necessity of oceanic cleaning and its protection;
- remove a significant amount of marine debris in the ocean and coastline.
For the school community, the municipality offers a programme of education and environmental awareness, stimulating values and attitudes centred on respect for nature and the preservation of natural resources. The sea and waste are highlighted themes among others such as citizenship, nature, energy and animal protection in the programme. The programme has already been carried out 6108 actions with an extensive reach of students – over 200 000 children have been involved since 2007. Through Cascais Ambiente, the municipality has promoted more sustainable urban waste management in promoting waste shipment for recycling. Another example is the WASTE4Think project, a European project led by technological institute DeustoTech at the University of Deusto (Spain). This aims to find information technology-based solutions that enable the improvement of all stages of waste management, with special focus on the participation of citizens towards sustainable cities. Waste4Think’s main goal is to move from current waste management practices to a circular economy mode, demonstrating the value of integrating and validating 20 eco-innovative solutions that cover the entire waste value chain. The benefits of these solutions are demonstrated in four urban areas in Europe. Cascais is one of the pilot cities of this project, along with Zamudio (Basque Country), Seveso (Italy) and Chalandri (Greece). In total, 19 partners from six European countries including consultants, technology companies, educational institutions, environmental associations and municipalities participate in this initiative.
The Municipality of Cascais believes that this initiative has to be a part of a more global approach to limit the use of disposable plastic or at least limit its use and recycle it properly.