Plastic Pollution Inspires Archeoplastica Project

The Ocean's Outcasts: A Museum of Washed-Up Plastic Reveals Italy's Pollution Crisis

A walk along the picturesque Carovigno beach in Puglia, Italy, offers more than just stunning views of the Adriatic Sea. For naturalist guide Enzo Suma, these walks became a journey into the past, unearthing relics of a disposable culture that refuses to disappear. His discoveries have culminated in Archeoplastica, a unique virtual gallery that showcases plastic waste from decades past. Each item is an emblem of the enduring legacy of our reliance on this problematic material. The project serves as a stark reminder that the sea is now returning our rubbish, piece by piece, to our shores.

A Sunscreen Bottle's Story

Naturalist guide Enzo Suma, a 44-year-old with a deep connection to his local environment, had always made a habit of gathering litter during his coastal strolls. One particular find, however, stopped him in his tracks. A container for Ambre Solaire sun cream, washed up on the sand, bore a price in lire, the Italian currency replaced by the euro in 2002. This detail sparked Suma's curiosity, leading him to investigate the bottle's origins. He was amazed to discover it originated from the latter 1960s, a tangible piece of history preserved by the very material that now threatens our oceans. This single object was the impetus for a much larger project.

The Birth of Archeoplastica

The vintage sunscreen bottle opened Suma's eyes to the stories hidden within the plastic debris he collected. He realised that each piece of washed-up plastic was an artefact, a silent witness to our consumption habits and the environment's struggle to cope. This realisation led to the creation of Archeoplastica, a virtual museum that now catalogues over 500 plastic artifacts discovered on the coastlines of Italy. Suma, who pursued environmental science studies at Venice's Ca' Foscari University, saw this as an opportunity to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and public understanding. He wanted to show people, not just tell them, about the durable nature of plastic.

Image Credit - Pesaro 2024

A Museum Without Walls

Archeoplastica is more than just a collection of old rubbish. It is a powerful tool for education and advocacy. The virtual museum, along with its travelling exhibitions, brings the reality of plastic contamination to a wider audience. By presenting these items as historical artefacts, Suma encourages a different perspective on the issue. The project has garnered significant media attention and has built a strong online community, with thousands of people following the stories of these "fossils" of the modern age. The project's success lies in its ability to transform a depressing subject into a compelling narrative of our times.

The Global Plastic Crisis

The problem Archeoplastica highlights is not unique to Italy. The world is grappling with a plastics crisis of monumental proportions. Beginning in the 1950s, plastic production has accelerated at an alarming rate, and our systems for managing this material have failed to keep pace. An estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic refuse enter the world's oceans every year, a figure that is predicted to triple in the next decade if current trends continue. A recent expert review has described plastics as a "serious, escalating, and widely overlooked threat" to the wellbeing of humanity and the planet, a sentiment echoed by scientists and environmentalists worldwide.

Italy's Plastic Problem

Italy holds a dubious distinction in the global plastic crisis. The country is the largest producer of plastic goods and the second-largest waste generator in the Mediterranean region. Italians generate nearly 4 million metric tons of plastic garbage annually, with the packaging industry responsible for over 80% of this total. This enormous volume of waste, coupled with challenges in waste management, particularly in southern regions, results in a significant amount of plastic leaking into the natural world. The country's extensive coastline makes it particularly vulnerable to the impacts of plastic contamination.

The Mediterranean: A Plastic Trap

The Mediterranean Sea, a region celebrated for its beauty and biodiversity, has become a "plastic trap." It is now among the most polluted seas globally, with plastic accounting for 95% of the waste found on its beaches and in its waters. Along with Egypt and Turkey, Italy is a primary contributor to this pollution, releasing an estimated 34,309 metric tons of plastic into the Mediterranean each year. The enclosed nature of the sea means that plastic debris remains trapped, circulating in its currents and accumulating on the seabed and coastlines.

Economic and Environmental Costs

The consequences of this plastic deluge are far-reaching. For Italy, a country with a significant "Blue Economy," the costs are substantial. Plastic pollution is estimated to cost the nation's tourism and fishing industries €67 million annually. Fishing nets become clogged with plastic debris, and tourist destinations are blighted by unsightly litter. The environmental toll is equally devastating. Marine animals, including endangered species like sea turtles and monk seals, are injured and killed by larger plastic items, while microplastics infiltrate the food chain, ultimately posing a threat to human health.

A Timeline of Trash

The collection at Archeoplastica tells a story of our evolving relationship with plastic. Among the oldest items is a 1958 Moplen bottle cap, a relic from the dawn of the plastic age. Moplen was the commercial name for a type of plastic created by the Italian company Montecatini, a symbol of the post-war economic boom and the rise of consumer culture. Other finds from this era include a German-made talcum powder bottle and a container for hand lotion, its brand name remaining perfectly legible after decades in the ocean. These items, once symbols of modernity and convenience, are now emblems of a disposable culture with long-lasting consequences.

 Image Credit - Discover Trieste

Relics of the 60s and 70s

The 1960s and 70s saw an explosion in the use of plastic materials for consumer goods, a trend reflected in the Archeoplastica collection. A clown-shaped honey bottle, produced and sold exclusively in Greece during the 1960s, appeared on a shoreline in Puglia, a testament to the transboundary nature of marine pollution. Finds from the 1970s include a Spic & Span cleanser for bathrooms container, its bold branding a ghost of marketing past. Each of these items tells a story not just of its own journey, but of the broader societal shifts that led to our current predicament.

The 80s and 90s: A Plastic-Wrapped World

The 1980s and 90s brought with them a new wave of plastic products, from Nesquik tubs to souvenir footballs from the Italia '90 World Cup. These items, familiar to a generation that grew up in a world increasingly dominated by plastic, now serve as a stark reminder of how recently our obsession with this material began. The fact that these items are now being found on beaches, often in a remarkably preserved state, underscores the urgency of the problem. What was once seen as a symbol of progress is now a clear and present danger to our environment.

Image Credit - Exibart

A Haunting Melody

One of the most poignant discoveries made by the Archeoplastica team was a 45rpm vinyl record, which a seven-year-old child found on a beach. Miraculously, Suma's nephew was able to restore the record to a playable condition. The song it contained was "Il Mondo" by Jimmy Fontana, a hit from 1965. The haunting melody, emerging from a piece of plastic that had been drifting in the ocean for decades, is a powerful symbol of the enduring nature of our waste. The barnacle encrustations on the disc's surface were a clear indication of its long and damaging journey through the marine environment.

The Winter Harvest

Suma's group of volunteers do most of their work during the fall and winter seasons. This is when the beaches are less crowded, and public agencies dedicate fewer resources to cleaning them. It is also when the sea, stirred up by winter storms, deposits vast quantities of plastic trash onto the shore. The majority of what they find is single-use plastic: beverage bottles, sacks, takeaway packaging, and drinking straws. These items, designed to be used for a few moments, endure in the natural world for centuries, a stark illustration of the flawed logic of our throwaway culture.

A Call to Action

The goal of Archeoplastica is not simply to create a gallery of horrors. It is a call to action. By raising awareness of the scale and longevity of the plastic problem, Suma hopes to inspire people to change their behaviour. The project encourages individuals to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics and to demand more sustainable alternatives from businesses and governments. The message is clear: the solution to plastic pollution begins with each and every one of us making more conscious choices in our daily lives.

The Need for Systemic Change

While individual action is crucial, the scale of the plastic crisis demands systemic change. Experts agree that a significant reduction in plastic production is necessary to turn the tide on pollution. This will require a concerted effort from governments and corporations to move away from a linear "take-make-dispose" model and towards a circular economy where resources are valued and waste is minimised. This includes investing in innovative recycling technologies, expanding extended producer responsibility schemes, and implementing ambitious policies to phase out unnecessary plastics.

The Ocean's Revenge

Enzo Suma's work with Archeoplastica provides a powerful and visceral illustration of a problem that can often feel abstract and distant. His museum of marine debris is a stark reminder that the ocean is not a bottomless dump. It is a living system that is now struggling under the weight of our waste. As Suma remarked, the sea is effectively returning our garbage to us. His work challenges us to confront the consequences of our actions and to take responsibility for the legacy we are leaving behind. The artifacts in his collection are not just relics of the past; they are a warning for the future.