On May 21st and 22nd will take place the 11th edition of the Net' Léman . This year Drinkotec has chosen to become a sponsor of this beautiful initiative.
Since 2005, the Association pour la sauvegarde du Léman organizes Net' Léman, the biggest lake cleaning in Europe. More than 1000 volunteers take part in each edition in about fifteen sectors all around Lake Geneva. Walkers and paddlers clean the shores and divers the bottom of the lake.
"Thanks to the participation of volunteers on the surface and underwater divers, at each edition between 5 and 10 tons of waste are recovered before being sorted and for some, recycled. Banks, harbours, landing stages, quays, beaches and all the most frequented places during the year are examined with a fine-tooth comb because waste knows no boundaries.
This "terrestrial" waste does not disappear by magic
90% of the waste that ends up in the lake comes from "terrestrial" activity. Most of this waste is not "biodegradable", it pollutes the aquatic ecosystem for a long time. Plastic waste breaks down into smaller and smaller particles and becomes micro-plastics (<5cm) and then nano-plastics which can then be ingested by organisms (phytoplankton, algae, aquatic plants) and end up in the food chain "1
The goal of this annual event is not simply to clean up the lake. Each year, this weekend has different objectives detailed on the Net'Léman website:
- Raise awareness: Raise awareness about the amount of litter dumped into the natural environment each year.
- Clean up: Relieve Lake Geneva of its waste which is mainly found in frequented areas such as beaches, landing stages, quays, harbours, river mouths and waterways.
- Sort and count: Sort and count waste to better understand the source and flow of waste discharged into the natural environment.
- Change Behavior: Encourage behavioral changes by mobilizing more and more people.
- Inform: Inform about solutions available to everyone and promote the 5Rs: think, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle.
- Federate: Play a unifying role by involving civil society in the dynamics of a useful, concrete and participatory action. The action is accessible to all and brings together people of all ages and backgrounds!
Participating in this annual action is of course a great commitment towards our environment and our lake but it is not enough. It is important that everyone at their own level rethink the ways we consume in order to reduce our plastic production as much as possible.
Sources:
1. https://www.netleman.ch/presentation/