Green Portal

2018 - ongoing

Italy, especially in the Mediterranean Sea

Individuals, communities, businesses, NGOs and institutions.

LifeGate Plastic Less has been created to reduce plastic and microplastic pollution in the seas and to protect the health of the oceans and our own. The project aims to reduce pollution by collecting the plastic waste that accumulates in ports and marinas. The aim is also to promote circular economy and consumption models focused on reducing, reusing and recycling waste, in particular plastic waste. LifeGate Plastic Less wants to do something to save the Mediterranean Sea, home to many marine species, from the plastic invasion. Among the causes of plastic pollution in the Mediterranean are: incorrect collection and management of waste, productive activities, tourism, port activities and people’s unconscientious behaviors.

LifeGate Plastic Free’s activities are:

• Reducing sea pollution: the presence of plastic waste in the Mediterranean Sea is an emergency to be tackled urgently. According to United Nations Environment, 731 tons of plastic end up in water. LifeGate actively contributes to collecting plastic waste from the sea by placing Seabin devices in ports and marinas.
• Raising awareness through media networks: LifeGate provides wide journalistic coverage of circular economy themes, plastics damages and pollution in rivers, seas and oceans.
• Promoting good practices: LifeGate suggests the most sustainable daily habits regarding reducing packaging, recycling materials and separating waste properly. Reporting best practices and success stories from around the world helps readers gain a clearer vision of that the problem as well the solutions are.

The Seabin is a collection bin that is fixed to a dock, floats in water and is able to capture around 1.5 kg of waste per day, including plastic, microplastics as small as 2 mm and microfibers as small as 0.3 mm, cigarette butts, debris, oil and oil-based detergents. Waste is collected in a bag which is daily emptied and cleaned. The device works 24 hours a day, it works thanks to a water pump, but cannot be used in the open sea since it requires electricity. The Seabin is extremely effective in areas such as ports as these are accumulation points in which most waste converges. The Seabin Project aims to be on the frontline of researching solutions that may contribute to cleaner and healthier oceans.

LifeGate supports local administrations in Italy that are committed to reducing plastic use by assigning them a certificate. This attests the adoption of environmental policies aimed at raising awareness among citizens on the role they should take in the fight against plastic pollution.

The project has demonstrated to be extremely successful since its beginning, it has captured the attention of the public, institutions and companies that want to show their commitment to saving the world’s seas and oceans.

LifeGate Plastic Free is an innovative project tackling plastic pollution. For this reason, in April 2019 LifeGate has been awarded the prestigious “Costa Smeralda Prize” in the “Blue Innovation” category.

The most innovative element introduced by the project is the Seabin, which is a more effective system in comparison to trash boats, nets to collect floating trash, or manual collection. These methods are limited, time-consuming and only collect visible waste, thus omitting microplastics. This is why LifeGate has chosen Seabin, which allows for an effective and continuous collection of floating plastic waste, requiring minimum effort on the part of designated staff.

LifeGate relies on the support of people, business and companies, which make it possible to position more Seabin devices and collect more plastic that can reusable for industrial purposes.