A collaboration between the Municipality of Serifos and the A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation aims to make the island’s Vagia beach the first smoke-free one in the country.

The project envisages the creation of a designated area for smokers, with ashtrays bearing environmental messages aimed at sensitizing visitors to the polluting impact of cigarette stubs.

“The [long-term] aim of the effort to make Vagia the first smoking-free beach in the Cyclades is to raise awareness in all of us and to prevent marine pollution,” according to Angeliki Kosmopoulou, the foundation’s executive director. Similar projects have been carried out in France and Italy, she said.

The smoke-free beach initiative is part of the Sea Change Greek Islands project, which last year, starting in Sikinos, launched a drive to phase out the use of plastic bags and plastic straws.

This article was originally published at ekathimerini.com.