Marlindo, a buoy attracts pleasure crafts

29/08/2009

A floating box off the Vernazza sea coast collects trash caused by pleasure crafts directly from sea. The goal is preserving sea surface and safeguarding the fragile coastal balance.

The Cinque Terre are experiencing successfully “Marlindo”, the trash collection buoy. It has been operating for one year and fully working from the beginning of the summer. The floating box off the Vernazza small port was meant to collect trash from sea, caused by pleasure crafts and it is by now a daily emptying-work for the Marine Area personnel carried out with a trash collection ship.
Marlindo is making a stir among pleasure crafts; it is regularly and correctly used – explains Claudio Verani, a technician responsible for the Protected Marine Area – Up to now we have collected 2 m3 of garbage. Therefore we can feel proud of this initiative, which started a year ago as a pilot project and now it is fully operating, a sign of the attention and sensitivity to environment and sea health which are growing in last years as the tendency towards a sustainable navigation”.
Marlindo was projected and patented by two citizens of La Spezia, Corrado Ricci e Francesco Bucceri, who share the passion for sea. It’s a removable box containing up to 550 liters, wedged in a squared platform of a diameter of 1.80 m. A lid, which can be opened through a lever, preserves garbage from being picked up by seagull or from possible leakages. The whole thing, made in polyethylene, is anchored to sea bottom. Its dimensions are intended to guarantee the maximum functionality for both swimmers and personnel while removing the box for taking trash ashore. A light turns on at dusk, so to be seen in night time. The service is for free.

Thuesday, 26th August