http://archipelago.gr/en/plastics-and-rubbish/

Plastics and rubbish drowning Greek ecosystems

WEDNESDAY, 01 OCTOBER 2014

The first autumn rains initiated a destructive journey of tons of
plastic and other debris, which had mostly been accumulating on the
roadsides throughout Greece, towards the sea. For many months, this
garbage was ?waiting? for the local authorities or communities to act,
for their collection, with no response!

It is unfortunate to see such a large part of the public impassively
contributing to the great presence of waste via their everyday life.
Only a few are aware that plastic is highly dangerous as it degrades
into our environment.

Until recently it was widely believed that plastic requires hundreds of
years to break down, and this led many people to quietly let the problem
roll over to our future generations by simply not taking any action.

The vicious circle of plastic is especially alarming. Recent research
conducted in Greece, and worldwide, have demonstrated how inaccurate the
belief of how slow the rate of plastic breakdown truly is.