The fourth General Assembly of the JOINABLE project, co-funded by the Interreg IPA ADRION Programme, is taking place in Venice at the premises of Venice Lagoon Plastic Free (VLPF).
The project is coordinated by the Municipality of Punat (Croatia) and brings together a transnational partnership composed of: Venice Lagoon Plastic Free (Italy), University of Information Science and Technology “St. Paul the Apostle” (North Macedonia), AMAP – Marche Agricoltura Pesca (Italy), Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (Greece), University of Montenegro – Faculty of Maritime Studies Kotor (Montenegro), Environmental and Territorial Management Institute (Albania), and Municipality of Divjaka (Albania). This multi-level partnership combines public authorities, universities, NGOs, and innovation actors across the Adriatic–Ionian region.
JOINABLE promotes a joint approach to the Blue Circular Economy in the Adriatic–Ionian region, focusing on coordinated marine and freshwater litter monitoring and clean-up actions, combined with circular solutions for marine litter. The project aims to address abandoned waste in seas and inland waters through a transnational and territorial cooperation framework, promoting digital tools, joint action plans, and structured collaboration among partners from EU Member States and IPA countries.
A strong strategic dimension of JOINABLE is its close cooperation with the EU Mission Ocean and Waters, contributing to the Mission objective of restoring our ocean and waters by 2030. Through harmonised monitoring methodologies, citizen engagement, and data interoperability, the project actively supports Mission targets on marine litter reduction and reinforces lighthouse actions in the Mediterranean basin.
The Joint Action Plan establishes a shared methodology, harmonised protocols, and a Master Calendar to ensure comparable data collection and aligned timelines across partner countries. Particular attention is given to the use of digital applications for beach litter monitoring, clean-ups, and End-of-Life (EOL) boat identification, ensuring consistent reporting standards and strengthening regional data systems.
Within the project, VLPF coordinates WP2, titled “Bottom-up approach to blue circular economy.” In this role, VLPF has already conducted a practical training session in Venice on the cataloguing of marine litter, working with partners to record waste collected during monitoring activities using the app developed under the Horizon Europe REMEDIES project.
Specifically, VLPF is responsible for:
- Facilitating the establishment of a collaborative framework serving as a platform for cooperation among agencies, NGOs, local communities, SMEs, and other relevant stakeholders involved in the blue circular economy.
- Promoting transnational cooperation in monitoring and cleaning up marine and freshwater litter.
- Contributing to the availability of comprehensive beach litter data in the Adriatic–Ionian region, ensuring that local decision-makers can access harmonised data through the EMODnet database to make informed policy decisions.
- Building a citizen-driven feedstock system, whereby citizens actively participate in generating recyclable materials for circular value chains.
The project’s primary objective is to create a network of volunteers, municipalities, and SMEs working together to monitor, remove, and whenever possible transform marine litter into objects for public use. Through this bottom-up approach, waste is removed from the natural environment, converted into secondary raw materials, and repurposed into new products and community assets, stimulating innovation, environmental responsibility, and sustainable development across the Adriatic–Ionian region.
The Venice meeting represents a key milestone for assessing implementation progress, strengthening cross-border cooperation, and advancing coordinated, policy-relevant action to reduce marine litter in the Adriatic–Ionian basin, while enriching the EMODnet marine litter database with harmonised and comparable data from the region.
