The municipality of Alonissos in cooperation with the Mediterranean SOS Network and MOm (Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal)  launced an ambitious program today, entitled Alonissos  without plastic bags’, and became the first island to abolish the use of plastic bags.

According to Mediterranean SOS Network, other municipalities in Greece have also expressed interest in participating in this initiative.

The goal of this program is the drastic reduction of plastic bag usage in an island with special environmental value, making Alonissos the first actual island “without plastic bags” in Greece and thus protecting the environment  where Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus, lives. The program also aims to make Alonissos an alternative tourism destination.

According to the Kathimerini, as part of the program, 2,000 tissue paper bags will be distributed to the residents and a series of actions, seminars and workshops will be held.