The gradual lifting of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions gave the chance to the Green Ambassadors - ALUMIL’s voluntary group – to take action and prepare their first external activity! The team realized that this is a very crucial period for Greece, as it signifies the beginning of the summer season. Therefore, the team decided to organize a cleanup at the coastal area of Epanomi, near Thessaloniki.

The open call

The municipality of Thermaikos, following the annual event of the “European Maritime Day”, made an open call to voluntary teams that are ready to undertake urban interventions in Thessaloniki. ALUMIL responded immediately to the open call and forwarded the invitation to its personnel in Thessaloniki and Kilkis. The people that were interested in participating, received the official environmentally friendly t-shirt with the “Green Ambassadors” logo and guidelines regarding the action and its location.

The participation

On Saturday May 8th, 70 ALUMIL employees with their families met at the agreed location. In addition, the action was supported by various other voluntary teams as well, each of which contributed to the whole initiative. The teams that worked side by side with ALUMIL’s Green Ambassadors were: Voluntary Action of Thermaikos, Save Your Hood, S.E.A.K.M., ARION, Fanari Friends – Natura of Epanomi, ENALEIA and employees of the municipality of Thermaikos from the Cleaning & Environment departments. The whole initiative was a truly collective activity that worked exceptionally well!

The cleanup

After gathering on the meeting point, ALUMIL Green Ambassadors received their equipment from the initiative’s coordinators, to proceed with the cleanup. The equipment included: gloves for individual use, special trash pickers, garbage bags and special nets for recyclable materials. All the participants were wearing their masks and kept distances, following the measures against SARS-CoV-2. The team was spread along the coastal side, a part of which is a Natura - protected area with rich flora. The members of Green Ambassadors filled their bags, cleaning an extended area. The end-result was quite impressive: 182 bags, 80 of which contained trash and 102 contained recyclable materials.

More to come

The voluntary cleanup on the coast of Epanomi was the first official activity of ALUMIL Green Ambassadors in an external environment. The success of this action, the cooperative spirit between the various teams and the municipality of Thermaikos, and most importantly the large participation of various people, proved that the protection of the environment is totally feasible, if we all cooperate by having a common goal. Equipped with persistence, ecological awareness, and passion, we can put an end to the pollution of the places we and our children live in and improve drastically the quality of life. For all of us in ALUMIL, the environment is a top priority, therefore we are committed to keep organizing such actions, to reinforce the impact of our corporate social responsibility.