Greece has the European Union’s longest coastline, poor waste management and an addiction to single-use plastic that is littering the country’s seabed.

Volunteer divers collect tires from the sea floor in Saronic gulf near Athens (Vassilis Tsiairis/Aegean Rebreath via AP)
Volunteer divers collect tires from the sea floor in Saronic gulf near Athens (Vassilis Tsiairis/Aegean Rebreath via AP)
A crane lifts up tires from the sea as a volunteer diver of Aegean Rebreath gives directions in Legrena (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)
A crane lifts up tires from the sea in Legrena (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)
Greece Hooked on Plastic
A pigeon that was injured by plastic rope in Athens. (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)
Greece Hooked on Plastic
A volunteer collects a plastic bag from a stream at Kolovrechtis wetland near Halkida, Evia island (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)
Greece Hooked on Plastic
A rubbish collection at Kolovrechtis wetland near Halkida. Only 16% of rubbish is recycled in Greece, compared with the EU’s average of 44% (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)
Greece Hooked on Plastic
In January, the European Union launched a 12-year campaign to reduce plastic waste across its 28 member states (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)
Greece Hooked on Plastic
Divers collect bottles and plates from the sea floor in Saronic gulf near of Athens (Vassilis Tsiairis/Aegean Rebreath via AP)