Swimmers take on 70km challenge to raise awareness on plastic waste

Neil Agius, Richard Zerafa and Gilbert Bartolo took on the challenge of swimming around Malta today in an effort to raise awareness on the waste generated by plastic. The 70km swimming challenge saw them spend approximately 24 hours at sea. 

The ‘Clean the Seas’ campaign saw the swimmers promoting and presenting three main aspects of awareness - environmental, sport and health - as well as highlighting the sustainable tourism aspect.

On their social media page, Round Malta Swim 2018, the group states, “Maltese waters, although crystal clear in their own right and even when compared to other countries, are still heavily polluted with plastic waste, and this became even more evident throughout our training for the swim around Malta". 

The swim kicked off in Marfa beach in Mellieha at 6pm on Friday, with the swimmers paddling their way through the night and day, stopping every 30 mins for a water break. 

At about 1.30pm on Saturday, Zerafa was forced to abandon the challenge when shoulder pain prevented him from going on.

He took some painkillers as he tried to soldier on but his shoulder eventually locked up, forcing him to quit. 

Bartolo was also forced to stop early after strong currents and battering waves led to exhaustion. He managed 20 hours and 35 minutes of swimming, but the direction of the sea current changed at about 10am on Saturday, leading to the exhaustion. 

Agius managed to complete the amazing feat in just under 22 hours. 

The ‘Clean the Seas’ campaign will also be organising a clean-up activity in Paceville on 28 July. 

The group, through their social media page, are inspiring followers to follow suit by picking-up three pieces of plastic, taking a photo, using the hashtag #waveofchange and encourage others to take up the cause.