Cycling to collect plastic: Myra's feat, between Turin and Germany (video)

Traveling by bicycle: a wonderful way to immerse yourself in nature, touring pristine trails and discovering unexplored landscapes, new vistas, and postcards to snap while the wind blows through your hair. But what happens when the scenery is dominated by hundreds and hundreds of plastic bottles abandoned along the way?

ALSO READ:Farah: The Labrador Retriever Picks Up Plastic on the Beach to Expose Human Incivility (Photos and Video)

PEDAL AGAINST PLASTIC

This is the question that was asked Myra Stals, 34-year-old Dutch cyclist, who during her bicycle trips, which she tackled strictly alone with four bags attached to the frame of her mountain bike, always found herself faced with the desolate scene of tons of plastic bottles and waste along the roads. 

The first trip, lasting 4 months, in 2016. Myra cycled for miles and miles, crossing 18 European countries, while instead, in thesummer 2018, moved for 6 weeks in the direction of the BalkansFrom these trips, he recalls with annoyance the enormous amount of plastic strewn everywhere along the road and the feeling of helplessness at not being able to collect it all because his travel bags were already full. 

From this reflection to action, the step was short: Myra decided to pedal not just for pleasure but with a mission: to clean the trails of the plastic that pollutes them, convinced that revolutions that matter always start with a virtuous gesture that everyone can make. And imitate. 

CYCLE 2 RECYCLE PROJECT

Thus was born the Cycle 2 Recycle project, which is taking her up and down Europe on a cargo bike to collect discarded plastic. Mountain roads and off-the-beaten-path trails are ridden on a bike that, due to its weight and center of gravity, is not ideal for mountainous terrain. But Myra rides it with a strength and determination that comes only from a deep passion for protecting the environment, which she combines with her love of cycling. 

From Turin to the Moselle Valley in Germany, and back, making an effort to collect as much plastic as possible that he finds along the way. 

But Myra's project is anything but wishful thinking: it doesn't stop at miles-long bike rides to collect bottles and waste, but above all aims to raise awareness about the use of single-use and non-recyclable plastic. 

This is because, unfortunately, awareness of the environmental impact of using, and resulting waste of, bottles and flasks is still very limited. Even in countries that are generally aware of the environmental impact of their purchasing behavior, like Switzerland, plastic is everywhere: In a 25-kilometer stretch between Martigny and Monthey, 90-95% of the plastic abandoned along the road consists of bottles. 

Tons and tons of non-recyclable and highly polluting plastic material left to decompose in the woods, on paths, in the grass, with a harmful effect on the ecosystem.

TO KNOW MORE: Plastic, let's start eliminating the most useless. Away with straws, cotton swabs, and bottles.

COLLECT PLASTIC BY BICYCLE

Once back in Turin, Myra plans to open a plastic sorting and recycling center, funded with funds raised through her fundraising campaign. This virtuous cycle aims to design and create durable, recycled plastic objects, starting from the bottom up, involving citizens as much as possible, and changing their purchasing and usage decisions and behaviors: less non-recyclable plastic, more reuse culture. Because change starts from the bottom, from individuals, and only then can we hope to get to the heart of the problem. Forcing businesses, industry, retail, and the political and institutional world to acknowledge this and act accordingly. 

(Featured image from Facebook page of the Cycle 2 Recycle project)

PLASTIC-FREE STORIES:

• Thailand uses banana leaves to wrap food. This is how the supermarket is eliminating plastic.
• The plastic-eating robot crab cleans our seas of pollution.
• From plastic to fuel: a machine produces diesel by burning packaging (video)
• Roma Tre University is fighting plastic waste: 36 steel water bottles are on their way for students.
• Books in exchange for plastic bottles and cans: Michele, a bookseller from Polla, is offering an initiative to rekindle a love of reading and raise awareness about recycling.