Green Options

Like this post? Subscribe to our RSS feed and stay up to date.

We’re at the beginning of June and it’s still raining. Despite this unmerciful weather, summer season is coming and Italian coasts are preparing to host bunch of tourists from around the world. Such as every year, a list of best beaches is revealed by the Blue Flag Programme, responsible for monitoring popular public beaches, resorts and marinas throughout the world. Criteria such as water quality, amenities and general safety, as well as nearby cultural attractions are all taken into account before a “Blue Flag” is awarded.

This year the Blue Flag programme, owned and run by the independent non-profit organization Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), has declared Italy’s nicest beaches can be found in the Tuscany and Marche regions, with each region boasting 15 awards. Overall, 215 beaches in 104 Italian communities received a “Blue flag”, eight more than last year and 14 more than in 2006. While last year many southern Italian beaches failed to gain the coveted symbol because of problems with waste disposal, this year they have had greater success.

Early night, the tide rises out of the sea like an elongated tongue and lashes a part of the shores of Kho Phi Phi island, located in Southern Thailand, throwing up an assortment of garbage, including plastic, wood, cigarette boxes, water bottles, metal, glass, paper, rope, cardboard, etc.

A stone throw away from a part of the shore, hordes of tourists from different parts of the world lounge on a sandy beach under a starry night, guzzling away to an antics-filled fire show, unconcerned about the sea’s spew.

Even though there are signs posted throughout the island encouraging visitors not to dump garbage, the sea’s vomit, so to speak, is evidence enough that only a few take heed of the message.