FARNET
Fisheries Areas Network

Good Practice Project

An app to promote waste collection and sport

Country:
Region: 
In an effort to support marine conservation and tackle marine litter, a fisherman and his two sisters in Catalonia (Spain) developed an app and launched a campaign to promote waste collection, while practicing group sports.

Description

Objectives: 

In an effort to support marine conservation and tackle marine litter, a fisherman and his two sisters in Catalonia (Spain) developed an app and launched a campaign to promote waste collection, while practicing group sports.

Miquel Ferrès realised his fishing nets were collecting the same kind of litter that he had seen on the beach the day before during his running session. He, therefore, decided to take advantage of the app-boom to promote both his passion (sports) and the importance of looking after his place of work (the sea). He created the mobile phone application Twinapp: a platform to organise worldwide meet-ups for “plogging” – a concept that combines group sports with the collection of waste from the environment.

Developed in January 2018, the app has been downloaded more than 3 000 times and is available in four languages (Catalan, Spanish, English and French). Twinapp is being used in Spain and Argentina. The project’s awareness-raising campaign included four participative workshops during which the local residents and entities came together to discuss potential solutions. A beach clean-up event was organised in each of the four municipalities that participated in the workshops, as well as an outing organized by a local school.

Due to the link between the project promoters and the fishing sector, local fishing boats also took part in every clean-up event, collecting the litter found while fishing during the week before each event. The litter collected by boats was added to the rubbish picked-up by the events’ participants on land. In total, 10 tonnes of waste was collected at these events.

Results: 
  •  
  • Four participative workshops in four municipalities, with 80 participants.
  • 700 participants in five clean-ups sessions and 300 fishers involved.
  • By 2020 the app had 3 500 downloads in two countries and had facilitated 1 216 clean-up events since 2018.
  • The app received two prizes:
  • E-Tech prize (2019) for the use of new technologies to involve people in waste collection activities.
  • Premis Cactus (2018) for the best app of the year
  • Established network: with other local initiatives, such as RunWomanRun, a non-profit association that promotes sports to improve people’s health; and companies (the Spanish delegation of Sony in Barcelona hired the platform to organise a session, with more than 80 staff members and the General Director of Sony Spain).
Transferability: 

The project is a successful example of how the use of new technologies can address local challenges. “Plogging” and eco-swimming activities can be used in all coastal and inland areas as a tool for increasing social awareness and interaction between local stakeholders.

Lessons & contribution to CLLD objectives: 
  • Lessons: For getting the best result, it was essential to have adequate profiles that shared the same values and goals and to implement every phase of the project in time. The best dissemination tool for the project were the events themselves, from which new opportunities arose to increase the impact of the project results (through getting new volunteers and the involvement of local entities).
  • Contribution to CLLD objective: enhancing and capitalising on the environmental assets of the fisheries and aquaculture areas.

Funding

Total project cost €62 550
FLAG grant €31 275
  • EU contribution (EMFF): €26 584
  • Public contribution (regional): €4 691
Beneficiary contribution €31 275

Project information

Timeframe of implementation From Jun 2020
Sea Basins
Type of area
Theme

Contact details

FLAG Contacts

Ms. Francesc Galí
+34 659.68.54.00
Spain
Publication date: 
15/06/2020
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