♻️ 𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐋𝐄: an innovative approach to tackling the plastic problem 🌊

It is an exceptional honour to announce that the Fablab association is part of an international consortium led by the University of Zagreb | Faculty of Architecture within the RIPPLE project, accepted under Horizon HORIZON-MISS-2025-03-OCEAN-02.

Together with like-minded organisations from Spain and Greece, we prepared the project application 4 months ago. Our thanks go to the Regional Development Agency of Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Regionalna agencija DUNEA, and the University of Dubrovnik for backing the idea that the pilot activity in Croatia should centre on the Neretva river, and for joining the project. Since the Neretva only passes through Croatia towards the end of its course, an activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina has also been designed within the project, where the project’s external partners will come on board.

Over 48 months, 16 partners from Greece, Spain and Croatia, along with associated partners from Bosnia and Herzegovina, will work on the following themes.

Plastic pollution in rivers is one of the fastest-growing threats to marine ecosystems, with most of the plastic in the oceans originating upstream. RIPPLE tackles this challenge at source, preventing plastic from entering rivers and ultimately the sea.

Combining design thinking, “maker” innovation, citizen science and open participatory tools, RIPPLE offers an innovative, community-led approach that goes beyond mere clean-ups. The project raises awareness, educates and empowers citizens and local stakeholders to change patterns of behaviour, while at the same time transforming the collected plastic into valuable resources through affordable and readily available fabrication technologies.

This integrated approach ensures that less plastic reaches the rivers in the first place, while what does reach them is turned into opportunities for learning, creativity and innovation.

As the initiators of the Mediterranean Makers initiative, we are all the prouder of this project because it embodies every value that initiative stands for.

More at:
https://www.fablab.hr/ripple-inovativni-pristup-rjesavanju-problema-plastike/