•  Some of the collected waste will be used in an art installation displayed during UN plastic treaty talks in Geneva, says Baptistelle Paldino

GENEVA

More than 50 volunteers rolled up their sleeves on an afternoon in Geneva to tackle one of today's most pressing environmental threats: plastic pollution.

Armed with gloves, reusable bags and a shared sense of purpose, participants gathered at Baby Plage, a small sand beach, for a lakeside cleanup organized by the Green Earth Action Foundation.

The citizen-led initiative aimed to raise awareness, collect waste and empower the local community to take concrete action in the face of growing environmental risks.

According to the foundation, nearly 100 tons of plastic waste flow into Lake Geneva every year, much of it invisible to the naked eye but harmful to aquatic biodiversity, water quality and even human health.

"Plastic is a disaster. It's a disaster for our ecosystems and for us, basically," Baptistelle Paldino, the head of the foundation's Geneva office and projects, told Anadolu in an interview. "But it’s a real disaster at the moment because of the microplastics that it delivers everywhere."

The event Wednesday focused not only on cleaning up the shoreline of Lake Geneva but also on promoting behavioral change. Awareness-raising activities were held on-site to inform participants about the effects of plastic on aquatic ecosystems and the importance of waste sorting and reduction at the source.

"This is also why we not only wanted to clean this beach, but we also wanted to include this very technical raising awareness part," said Paldino.

She urged people to be mindful of their waste when visiting the lake, encouraging them to take their plastic bottles, cups and other items home, sort them properly, and dispose of them responsibly.

Plastic collected at cleanup to feature in UN art installation as treaty talks begin

The Geneva cleanup followed similar efforts around the world organized earlier this year by the foundation's global ambassadors.

"These ambassadors in April were all achieving a task that is good for the planet," Paldino explained. "Some were cleaning coastal areas or cleaning some beaches. And we're like, okay, we need to do this in Geneva."

According to Paldino, the city cleans the lakefront daily, sometimes even multiple times a day. But the problem persists.

"So when I say 100 tons of plastic is literally in Lake Leman (Lake Geneva) every year, this is even more concerning when we know that the city is cleaning every day," she said. "Despite all these efforts, we still have some plastic that ends up in the lake."

She also warned of the impact on the food chain.

“Some animals can just eat it...and in the end, it ends up on our plates," she said. "So now the issue is that some children here at school (are) getting maybe some fish from Lake Leman, and they are directly eating plastic."

Paldino said studies suggest that an average person may ingest the equivalent of a credit card’s worth of plastic every week -- a figure she described as disturbing and a clear sign that plastic pollution has become inescapable.

"We need to recycle it, and we are here to collect it, recycle and use it to send a powerful message," she said.

To encourage more sustainable habits, the foundation distributed reusable water bottles and cups during the cleanup.

"With one bottle only, you reduce by 10 the amount of plastic that you can have within a day, within your life," said Paldino.

The collected waste will be repurposed for a large-scale art installation by Canadian artist Benjamin Von Wong, to be displayed at Place des Nations, the UN Geneva Office, during the second part of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2). The piece is intended to visually confront delegates negotiating what could become the first legally binding global treaty on plastic pollution.

Made from plastic waste collected during Wednesday's beach cleanup, the installation is going to show the world, while negotiating on plastic, "what real plastic is," said Paldino.

Despite the scale of the problem, the foundation's message remains rooted in optimism and collective effort.

"Continue doing these activities, and you can make your difference as well," Paldino said, referring to reducing plastic consumption, sorting and recycling.

"What we really promote within the Green Earth Action Foundation is about being hopeful. And we really want to empower young generations, young women, young climate leaders to be able to take part in these initiatives," she added.