At this year’s festival of the Virgin Mary of Koumoulou, which took place on Sunday, August 22, the Menites Association led the way by using re-usable crockery and cutlery instead of disposable items. They set a great example of how an event like this can take place, for a cleaner greener Andros.  

The Association served 150 portions of food on reusable crockery and cutlery. This crockery and cutlery came from their own supply, and supplemented by the dishes of the Clean Green Andros project. These items were used for the two multi-day Andros on Foot Festivals of 2018 and 2019, and most recently by the Andros Experience 2021 event.

The decision by the Menites Association not to use any disposable plastic was crucial to avoid the large volume of waste usually produced at such events, with a negative impact on the local environment and a burden on our waste management. According to the President of the Association, Mrs Despina Hatzoglou, every year, after the festival, plastic and garbage is collected from the surrounding areas and from the village terraces, after it has been scattered by the winds. Due to this initiative, very little waste was created this year.

Thanks to the reusable utensils,  at least 150  sets of plastic plates,  plastic forks and disposable glasses did not end up in the trash.  They also recycled their beverage containers and composted all their food scraps. So the only waste that eventually ended up in the garbage were the napkins!

We are delighted that we contributed, and we hope that other groups and associations will follow the example of the Menites Association! If you would like to know more about this service, please contact us.

Sincere thanks and congratulations to the Menites Association.