LooP Zone: Promoting a circular economy with low plastic zones on Mediterranean Islands
LooP Zone uses the concept of a 'low plastiac zone' – a geographically defined area taking collective action to prevent and reduce the generation of local plastic waste and (marine) litter. LooP Zone aims to measurably and sustainably reduce the use of Single Use Plastics (SUPs) by the HORECA sector on 5 tourist islands: Formentera (Spain), Salina (Italy), Skiathos (Greece), Vis (Croatia) and Gozo (Malta), supporting the move to a sustainable local tourism economy.
LooP Zone addresses one of the Mediterranean's most visible environmental challenges: plastic pollution on tourist islands. Each year, over 200 million visitors contribute to a surge in single-use plastics (SUPs), which make up over 60% of marine litter. Islands such as Formentera (Spain), Salina (Italy), Skiathos (Greece), Vis (Croatia), and Gozo (Malta) face increasing pressure, as most local waste systems simply can't keep pace. Tourist islands present specific comparable challenges, but they also present opportunities in being holistic ecosystems and economies, offering LooP Zone the opportunity to test a holistic approach to addressing the above barriers to support the transition to a circular and resource efficient local tourism economy.
LEADER
PARTNERS
LooP Zone creates Low Plastic Zones areas where municipalities, tourism businesses, and local innovators work together to prevent and phase out single-use plastics.
Tourism operators (hotels, beach bars, restaurants) receive tools to measure their plastic footprint and switch to sustainable, reusable alternatives.
Innovation-driven business models offer alternatives to Single-Use Plastics items.
Local policies are strengthened to align with national and EU plastic reduction targets
Built on a three-pillar model - policy, business support, and innovation - LooP Zone is tested locally, shared via a digital platform, and scaled through a regional island network.
Consortium
The LooP Zone partnership is structured to ensure local action is informed with EU-level best practice, delivery on each island is led by local sector experts, and that the project is sustained and replicated. The consortium brings together 12 partners across six countries:
1) MedWaves, the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre for SCP (Hosted by the Waste Agency of Catalonia), ES –Lead Partner-;
2) Association of Cities and Regions for Sustainable Resource Management, BE;
3) Rezero Foundation, ES;
4) Formentera Island Council, ES;
5) Messina Foundation, IT;
6) Municipality of Malfa, IT;
7) Association for Nature, Environment and Sustainable Development SUNCE, HR;
8) Vis Archipelago Geopark, HR;
9) Aenaos Thalassa, EL;
10) Dimos Skiathou, EL;
11) Malta Regional Development and Dialogue Foundation, MT; and
12) Zebbug Local Council, MT.
Associated Organizations
LooP Zone also draws on the support of associated organizations selected for their expertise and for their capacity to strengthen the project's territorial sustainability and multilevel transfer.
AO1 – The Small Islands Organisation (SMILO)
AO2 – United Nations Environment Programme / Mediterranean Action Plan – Barcelona Convention Secretariat
AO3 – Union Méditerranéenne des Confédérations d'Entreprises
AO4 – Active New European Reuse Alliance
AO5 – Network of European Regions for Sustainable and Competitive Tourism
AO6 – University Of Thessaly
AO7 – Agencia de Estrategia Turística de las Illes Balears
AO8 – Federación Empresarial Hotelera de Ibiza y Formentera
AO9 – Associazione Salina Isola Verde
AO10 – Cittá Metropolitana di Messina
AO11 – Camera di Commercio di Messina
AO12 – Grad Komiža
AO13 – Turistička zajednica grada Komiže
AO14 – Regionalne razvojne agencije DUNEA
AO15 – Skiathos Hoteliers Association
AO16 – Heritage Parks Federation
AO17 – Osservatorio sul Turismo delle Isole Europee
AO18 – Fundación Save the Med
AENAOS THALASSA role:
AENAOS Thalassa will actively engage in all project activities, assuming a leadership role in implementing the Loop Zone initiative on the island of Skiathos (Greece). This effort will be executed in close collaboration with key technical partners i.e. ARC-MedWaves for all Work Packages and with ACR+ mostly for WP3 ensuring a cohesive approach along the project.
AENAOS Thalassa's contributions include:
- Public Sector Engagement: Working with the local authority counterpart, supporting policies to reduce single-use plastics (SUPs) and offering incentives. AENAOS Thalassa will lead local awareness campaigns to educate residents and tourists on the environmental impacts of plastic waste.
- Private Sector Engagement: Collaborating with the HORECA sector to provide training on sustainable and circular economy practices. The certification system will reward businesses that reduce SUP usage, fostering a sustainability-driven economy.
- Pilot Implementation: Assessing current plastic usage in Skiathos, identifying viable alternatives, and adapting the H.A.P.I. tool to support local businesses in adopting sustainable practices while facilitating collaboration among suppliers.
- Monitoring and Evaluation: Overseeing project progress and refining strategies based on data, evaluating the LPZ's environmental and economic impacts.
- Transfer and Scaling: Leading the scaling of Loop Zone by sharing successes from the Skiathos pilot with other regions, and facilitating knowledge transfer.
Within WP3 - Transfer, AENAOS Thalassa will lead two crucial activities: establishing and coordinating the project's communication, dissemination, and exploitation strategy, along with developing an awareness-raising and capitalization campaign. Drawing from its extensive experience in previous actions and projects, AENAOS Thalassa aims to maximize public and stakeholder participation.
Sustainable Tourism Mission
LooP Zone is funded through the Interreg Euro-MED Programme and falls under the Sustainable Tourism Mission, which builds on the legacy of the Sustainable Tourism Community of projects and on the Governance projects such as BEST MED of the Interreg MED Programme 2014-2020. The Sustainable Tourism Mission of the Interreg Euro-MED Programme focuses on fostering a circular tourism considering the sustainability of ecosystem services using innovation technologies, and promoting the preservation of natural resources and cultural heritage. Two governance projects work jointly to develop solutions and promote cooperation in the Euro-MED and beyond, to increase the coordination level and institutional capacity to make the tourism greener, smarter and more resilient.
Key Numbers
LooP Zone at a Glance