LooP Zone: Promoting a circular economy with low plastic zones on Mediterranean Islands
2025-2029
Current ProjectsLooP Zone uses the concept of a ‘low plastic zone’ – a geographically defined area taking collective action to prevent and reduce the generation of local plastic waste and (marine) litter. LooP Zone aims to measurably and sustainably reduce the use of Single Use Plastics (SUPs) by the HORECA sector on 5 tourist islands: Formentera (Spain), Salina (Italy), Skiathos (Greece), Vis (Croatia) and Gozo (Malta), supporting the move to a sustainable local tourism economy.
Plastic PollutionSHARE
LooP Zone addresses one of the Mediterranean’s most visible environmental challenges: plastic pollution on tourist islands. Each year, over 200 million visitors contribute to a surge in single-use plastics (SUPs), which make up over 60% of marine litter. Islands such as Formentera (Spain), Salina (Italy), Skiathos (Greece), Vis (Croatia), and Gozo (Malta) face increasing pressure, as most local waste systems simply can’t keep pace. Tourist islands present specific comparable challenges, but they also present opportunities in being holistic ecosystems and economies, offering LooP Zone the opportunity to test a holistic approach to addressing the above barriers to support the transition to a circular and resource efficient local tourism economy.
LooP Zone creates Low Plastic Zones areas where municipalities, tourism businesses, and local innovators work together to prevent and phase out single-use plastics.
- Tourism operators (hotels, beach bars, restaurants) receive tools to measure their plastic footprint and switch to sustainable, reusable alternatives.
- Innovation-driven business models offer alternatives to Single-Use Plastics items.
- Local policies are strengthened to align with national and EU plastic reduction targets
Built on a three-pillar model –policy, business support, and innovation- LooP Zone is tested locally, shared via a digital platform, and scaled through a regional island network.
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Consortium
The LooP Zone partnership is structured to ensure local action is informed with EU-level best practice, delivery on each island is led by local sector experts, and that the project is sustained and replicated. The consortium brings together 12 partners across six countries: 1) MedWaves, the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre for SCP (Hosted by the Waste Agency of Catalonia), ES –Lead Partner-; 2) Association of Cities and Regions for Sustainable Resource Management, BE; 3) Rezero Foundation, ES; 4) Formentera Island Council, ES; 5) Messina Foundation, IT; 6) Municipality of Malfa, IT; 7) Association for Nature, Environment and Sustainable Development SUNCE, HR; 8) Vis Archipelago Geopark, HR; 9) Aenaos Thalassa, EL; 10) Dimos Skiathou, EL; 11) Malta Regional Development and Dialogue Foundation, MT; and 12) Zebbug Local Council, MT.
LooP Zone also draws on the support of associated organizations selected for their expertise and for their capacity to strengthen the project’s territorial sustainability and multilevel transfer.
- AO1 – The Small Islands Organisation (SMILO)
- AO2 – United Nations Environment Programme / Mediterranean Action Plan – Barcelona Convention Secretariat
- AO3 – Union Méditerranéenne des Confédérations d’Entreprises
- AO4 – Active New European Reuse Alliance
- AO5 – Network of European Regions for Sustainable and Competitive Tourism
- AO6 – University Of Thessaly
- AO7 – Agencia de Estrategia Turística de las Illes Balears
- AO8 – Federación Empresarial Hotelera de Ibiza y Formentera
- AO9 – Associazione Salina Isola Verde
- AO10 – Cittá Metropolitana di Messina
- AO11 – Camera di Commercio di Messina
- AO12 – Grad Komiža
- AO13 – Turistička zajednica grada Komiže
- AO14 – Regionalne razvojne agencije DUNEA
- AO15 – Skiathos Hoteliers Association
- AO16 – Heritage Parks Federation
- AO17 – Osservatorio sul Turismo delle Isole Europee
- AO18 – Fundación Save the Med
MedWaves’s role:
As project leader, MedWaves will ensure coherence across all activities and oversee their effective implementation. MedWaves will lead WP1 – Study, designing the assessment strategy and enabling technical partners (ACR+ and FME) to analyze multi-level policy and regulatory mechanisms targeting single-use plastic products and their alternatives in the tourism sector. MedWaves will also validate and deploy a Decision Support System (DSS) tailored to project needs.
In WP2 – Test, MedWaves will establish and manage the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework for pilot activities, ensuring that progress is tracked, impacts are measured, and lessons learned are captured to inform the evaluation and scalability of pilot actions.
In WP3 – Transfer, MedWaves will support knowledge transfer and scaling efforts, including business matchmaking, impact investing, and marketing strategies to promote the adoption of Low Plastic Zones (LPZs) and encourage circular economy solutions within the HORECA sector.
MedWaves will further mainstream project results through regional cross-border governance platforms such as the Barcelona and Stockholm Conventions, contributing to policy influence and regulatory uptake. Additionally, MedWaves will engage with members of the Local and Subnational Governments Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, active in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution. As an active coalition member, MedWaves will help ensure that local and regional authorities contribute their expertise and play a meaningful role in shaping the future global plastic treaty.
Sustainable Tourism Mission
LooP Zone is funded through the Interreg Euro-MED Programme and falls under the Sustainable Tourism Mission, which builds on the legacy of the Sustainable Tourism Community of projects and on the Governance projects such as BEST MED of the Interreg MED Programme 2014-2020. The Sustainable Tourism Mission of the Interreg Euro-MED Programme focuses on fostering a circular tourism considering the sustainability of ecosystem services using innovation technologies, and promoting the preservation of natural resources and cultural heritage. Two governance projects work jointly to develop solutions and promote cooperation in the Euro-MED and beyond, to increase the coordination level and institutional capacity to make the tourism greener, smarter and more resilient.
Key numbers
- Total Budget: 3.999.526,60 € (EU contribution – Interreg Funds 80% € 3.199.621,28) MedWaves Net EU contribution € 490.832,00
- Project duration in months: 45
- Project Partners: 12
- Countries: 6
- Pilot Areas: 5
- Associated Organizations: 18
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