Stella Cervello, a charming girl who works for ecology goals and sustainable development in Paros.

Recycling is civilization!
Recycling is the economy of raw materials, a part of the contemporary culture, creation and above all civilization. In its centuries old history Paros has built a relationship with economy, reuse and the conversion of what’s useless to something reusable. “Naias”, Naoussa’s Nautical Club, has had an excellent idea. It converted the banners used to announce the Events of the Cultural Park into marvelous shopping bags. Big, convenient and environment friendly, they prove that originality, style and ecological consciousness can go together.
Sales Points: The Melissi Delicatessen and the FEP Vet Centre at the Naoussa Peripheral Road.

Paros, first Mediterranean
island without plastic waste

Fifty years ago, this title would have sounded like a joke. Then, the plastics, light heartedly and cheerfully entered our life for multiple use naturally –a plastic flask for the excursions and a plastic folding glass in every schoolbag!

Things that were simple and self-evident in the pre-plastic era are sought again, now bearing strange and foreign names. The truth is that unless we eliminate the single use plastics and recycle in the right way, we are in grave danger as a species and as an ecosystem.

We must go for recycling but an honest and sincere recycling so as to be certain that the waste does not end in a rubbish dump. The solution is sorting at the source and Paros Municipality has pledged to impleαment it as of this year –at least for the plastics. This is not an isolated measure but the Municipality’s participation in the project Clean Blue Paros which is supported by the Preservation Fund and the WWF-Greece and is aimed at making Paros the First Mediterranean Island without Plastic Waste.

The “Clean Blue Paros” already supported by 40 local enterprises is aimed at cutting down the use of plastic coffee cups, straws, water bottles, food packages and bags by proposing alternative solutions. Jo Royle, the Head of the Common Seas who planned and guided this project, declared “We’ve found excellent partners among the Parians”.
One of these excellent partners is Stella Cervello, a charming girl who works for ecology goals and sustainable development in Paros. In our talk with her, Stella, whose descent is from France and Spain, outlined her plans and actions: “Ιnspired by a book, Zero waste home, about a family that produces trash for a year that fits in a jar(!) I started to do my best to reduce waste. So, I moved to Paros and I created this group Sustainable Living Paros, an active community, where everybody can share and exchange tips about how to reduce waste, to make compost, organic gardening and how to save water.
I’m now working on a website that will be an “eco-guide” for locals and visitors with practical tips and maps, on how and where to buy without packaging, where to find water without plastic or about permaculture”.

Things like that led to her involvement in the new programme Clean Blue Paros, “I got contacted by an organisation, Common Seas, to work with them. The aim is to work with island communities to stop plastic pollution and working collaboratively to identify and implement solutions with the biggest potential. Last year I started a campaign to help cafés to reduce plastic, called Plastic Free Drinks. I got many cafés to participate in the movement”.

So, if this summer not even a single café in Paros serves your freddo in a plastic glass with a straw, you will know who is to blame!