A collaboration with the organisations Clean Beach Initiative and Centro de la Playa with the goal to raise awareness about micro plastics and co- explore possibilities and ideas of how to keep Barcelonas beaches clean.

Walking along the beach searching for waste is a therapeutic experience, hearing the waves crash, sand under your feet, mind solely focusing on what you are looking for. When getting caught up in the small colorful pieces of waste in the sand it even becomes beautiful.

Through volunteering and participating in beach cleanups with Clean Beach Initiative for several months we saw trends of where certain types of waste were normally found and collected. Every week large amounts of cigarette butts, lollipop sticks, plastic and paper straws, cans, plsatic cups and bottles, plastic packaging, aluminium foil and packaging, paper cups and packaging, styrophoam, micro plstics, organic waste and fishing line and gear were collected. Wind and sea gathered micro plastics in patches, yet collection is time consuming with gloves and one by one collection. 

To explore possible solutions to minimise waste and microplastics on the beaches and in the city we crafted a brainstorming session for Clean Beach Initiatives group of volunteers and the public. A co-creation session to explore tools or possibilities for citizens and Clean Beach Initiative to use, and raise awarness of the impact of taking action. 

Through the brainstorming and workshop we tested and experimented with different tools to sieve the sand and collect larger amounts of small pieces more efficiently. Users had different ways of using the tools and therfor providing a variety of tools with differnt forms and functions worked well for different people, but also different locations on the beach. Important during the design process was to create tools that were easy to carry and store for the Clean Beach Initiative team.