Volunteers mobilized by the A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation picked up trash on the beach of Schinias, a protected wetland northeast of Athens, on Saturday. The foundation has launched a campaign to eradicate single-use plastic in cooperation with the Environment Ministry.

Speaking from Schinias on Saturday, Environment Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said Greece will adopt a European Union directive banning single-use plastic items such as straws, forks and knives this month with the aim of phasing them out by July 2021.

Greeks use an estimated 1 million plastic coffee cups each day, the minister said.

[ANA-MPA]