Net’Léman is a large campaign to clean up the shores and the bed of Lake Geneva, based at around fifteen different sites in Switzerland and France. Each event brings together more than a thousand volunteers of all ages and backgrounds, including nearly 300 certified divers, all united in the effort to preserve the beauty and health of Lake Geneva.

At each session between 5 and 10 tons of waste are collected before being sorted and recycled whenever possible. Banks, ports, landing stages, quays, beaches, the mouths of rivers flowing into the lake and all the locations which are most heavily frequented are gone over with a fine-toothed comb. Waste has no respect for borders!

90% of the waste found in water comes from the land. Most waste is either not biodegradable, or takes years to break down completely.

Since 2005, the proportion of consumer waste collected in the Net’Léman events has increased every year. Most of it consists of the remnants of single-use plastic containers and packaging. However, we know that plastic is not biodegradable. It breaks up into small particles which permanently pollute aquatic ecosystems and is seriously detrimental to wildlife and water quality.

A study commissioned by ASL confirmed that every year nearly 10 tonnes of plastic litter end up in the waters of Lake Geneva.

Overall, the most heavily polluting waste consists of batteries, tyres, high density plastics, oils, paints and cigarette butts. However, lightweight plastics are the most damaging for wildlife as they are often mistaken for food.

• Participating in cleanup events is a practical measure to reduce the quantity of litter in the environment and to limit the pollution of our ecosystems.
• Use theApp Net’Léman contributes to an open science project in order to better understand the type, source and flow of waste and to implement targeted solutions.
• Promoting behavioral changes upstream to REDUCE waste.
• Raising awareness and educating young and old about how waste affects the natural world and contributes to the depletion of natural resources.
• Making sure that waste which has already been produced is sorted by category as much as possible to increase recycling waste and economise on natural resources.
• Acting as a model of responsible behavior during leisure time, on vacation, at the office, at school …