Why Ports Matter: How Harbours Can Help Save Our Polluted Seas

Hey everyone! Welcome to our little corner of the internet, where we like to talk about things we deeply care about. Today we’re diving into the super important (but often kind of overlooked) topic: ports and their ecological impact.

Imagine this: every year, millions of tons of plastic are dumped into our seas and oceans. According to the European Environment Agency, about 8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean annually. This isn’t just big stuff like bottles and bags — much of it breaks down into microplastics that are tiny but super harmful.  And the total plastic already floating (or sinking) in our waters? Scientists of the European Marine Service Copernicus estimate there are over 120 million tons of plastic currently polluting the oceans. To put that in perspective: plastics can take hundreds of thousands of years to decompose, so what we throw away today could hang around for generations. 

This isn’t just ugly but also dangerous. For marine life, plastic means entanglement, ingestion, or even diseases. If things don’t change, plastic pollution could quadruple by 2050, especially in vulnerable areas like the Mediterranean Sea, where microplastic levels are already really high. 

The global situation sounds pretty scary. But here’s some good news: ports aren’t just part of the problem, they can actually be part of the solution. 

Some harbours around the world are starting to adopt eco-friendly strategies to reduce plastic pollution, carbon emissions, and other negative impacts. For example LifeGate PlasticLess is a project that places “Seabin” devices in ports. These devices float in the water and collect floating plastic, microplastics (even as small as 2 mm), and microfibers. They can make a tangible difference by cleaning up accumulation points and the spots in ports where trash tends to gather. There are also sustainable islands initiatives. According to Sustainable Islands, Ischia is one of the “first sustainable ports of the South”: the port plans to install an electric transformer so that ferries moored overnight can plug into the electricity grid, instead of running their engines, reducing noisy emissions and air pollution. On Ischia, plastic-free policies have been adopted: in 2019, single-use plastic containers, plates, cutlery, and similar items were banned across the island. Moreover, the local waste company Ischiambiente is working on better waste collection systems.

These  port-based initiatives make such a big difference because ports are choke points. Trash and microplastics often accumulate in harbours before they drift off into open seas. If we stop (or at least slow down) pollution at these points, we reduce what ends up in the wider ocean. Furthermore, when an island like Ischia, with its beautiful coastline and lots of visitors, commits to green policies, it sends a message. It also has a real impact: fewer emissions, less plastic, cleaner water for marine life and I strongly believe this has an huge effect on the community as well, by moving it in an eco direction. 

Frankly, seeing these green shifts gives me so much hope. It shows that even small places, like a cozy island port, can be powerful agents of change. With smart strategies, local commitment, and maybe just a little pressure from the community, ports around the world can help heal our seas. And who knows? Maybe one day, we’ll look back and say: that’s when things started to turn.

Anna Galeone