CAMPAIGNS

From plastic soup to policy – deposit return as a solution

The finish of the Nice–Rome windsurf expedition marks an extraordinary moment. On 21 May in Rome, as the finish to the 750km windsurf expedition - Plastic Soup Surfer Merijn Tinga will have a brief informal meeting with Pope Leo XIV. A symbolic conclusion to a journey that began four years ago in Oslo.

For more than a decade, Merijn Tinga has travelled Europe’s coastlines and rivers by windsurf and stand-up paddleboard, tracing the path of plastic pollution. From the source of the Rhine to the North Sea, from Oslo to London, Paris, Nice and now Rome, each expedition has carried the same message: deposit-return systems on plastic bottles and cans work.

They reduce littered bottles and cans by 80 percent. We have seen it happen. In the Netherlands, years of expeditions and campaigns, data, petitions and political pressure helped turn deposit systems into reality - transforming streets, rivers and public awareness.

This spring’s Nice–Rome expedition is the next chapter. A long solo journey on a self-built board, incorporating littered plastic bottles from the river Tiber, and a clear call for change: Italy can make the same leap. The tools exist. Along the route we call on the litterpick communities to start collecting data instead of only litter. To provide evidence in clearcut numbers. Data is objective not an opinion.

The campaign is not only about Italy. It is about sharing our lessons learned - how to mobilise citizens, collect data and turn awareness into policy. From Oslo to Rome, from the water to the halls of power.

The route is long and often against the current.
But change begins the moment you move.

‘Rifiuti in Vista’: Citizen Science for the Nice–Rome Campaign

For the Nice–Rome expedition we launch Rifiuti in Vista — a citizen-science project using photo’s to map litter along the Italian coast. Political resistance in Italy is strong, and reliable data is scarce. That’s where you can make the difference.

Take photos of litter along your walk, ride or beach visit. Our AI dentifies the brands, materials and objects, and turns the results into maps and graphs we will use to brief journalists and policymakers throughout the campaign. (AI model developed by Zwerfinator)

Help us build the evidence Italy needs.
Every photo counts. Every dataset strengthens the case for a national deposit system.

Join Rifiuti in Vista — and paddle this campaign forward with us. (download the flyer with the instructions. Italian or English)