Work before pleasure: Malta FA and volunteers clean up the beach prior to a truly green match!

After some paucity of activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic, PlayGreen is now back to action! On 28 November, a “Green Day” was organised by PlayGreen Malta under the auspices of the Malta Football Association. The PlayGreen volunteer staff joined forces with four other organisations, namely the European Student Network; INSITE, a journalist student organisation; the Malta Surf School and the Young European Federalists, to deliver a truly sustainable event. The day sought to increase young people’s awareness about the environment through football. During the event, volunteers and members of PlayGreen Malta collected waste – mostly microplastics –, and cigarettes from the Ghajn Tuffieha Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in Malta. To adhere to Covid-19 regulations, participants were encouraged to register as a group of six. The event was well-attended with 44 participants (all between 18-29 years of age) along with staff members of PlayGreen and the other participating organisations. After 2 hours of waste-collection, all participants enjoyed a beach football match.

Green Day participants in action. Browse through the gallery by clicking on the arrows.

Phil Richards, Chief Executive Officer of TAPP Water Malta also visited the event and provided some information on the use of plastic bottles for drinking water, which leads to an enormous amount of plastic waste. This is a big issue in Malta since tap water is not drinkable. Mr Richards provided the participants with a free TAPP Water Filter to encourage them to eliminate the use of plastic bottles. By using filtered tap water, it is easy to make a positive sustainable change to protect the environment. Currently, the PlayGreen consortium is working on finalising the Intellectual Outputs of the project, organising the multiplier events and the closing event. The final conference is scheduled to take place in March 2021. Learn more about PlayGreen on our website, Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram accounts.