It begins with a revolutionary and straightforward idea: why don't we pay fishermen to haul plastic from their catches? Lefteris Arapakis was born into a Greek family that has been fishing in the Mediterranean for nearly five generations. What struck Lefteris and his family is that fishing is no longer as abundant as it used to be, and the amount of plastic trash caught from fishing boats along with fish is getting more frequent. That's why Lefteris started Enaleia. Enaleia's goal is to educate people on the nightmarish amounts of plastic in the waters of the Mediterranean and do something about it while teaching local communities what it means to fish sustainably. The innovative thing with Enaleia is that it pays fishermen for bringing their plastic hauled in from their catches. Paying fishers for the plastic caught in fishing nets shifts the perspective of what it means to have a "good day" of fishing. And it incentivizes recycling and ocean clean-up efforts among the local coastal community. Enaleia pays fishing crews between $30 and $90 per crew member monthly for the plastic they collect. (Enaleia found that crews bring in more if they get paid for their work). And Enaleia receives its funding to pay fishermen from local Greek foundations and some notable international foundations like Pfizer and the Ocean Conservancy. With this great effort to tackle plastic, it's no surprise that Lefteris has been acknowledged for his environmental efforts with Enaleia. Lefteris was honored for his pivotal work in the Mediterranean by being named a Young Champion of the Earth in 2020 by The United Nations Environment Program. Ahead of COP27, I hope to see Lefteris speak about the importance of clean oceans and comment on COP27's controversial sponsor: Coca-Cola (the most prominent plastic polluter on the planet). However, I see Lefteris's initiative with Enaleia to help fishermen reduce plastics in Earth's aquatic ecosystems as just the tip of the iceberg. Enaleia and similar models can empower global fishing communities by cleaning their waters and implementing more sustainable fishing practices. I hope Enaleia can tap into more considerable funding so they can pay more fishermen for hauling in more plastic. I think US fishing and coastal communities can undoubtedly learn a thing or two from Enaleia ✍️🎣 Click the link to read more of the Washington Post's Climate Visionary Article on Lefteris and the impact of Enaleia: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/interactive/2022/plastic-pollution-greece-enaleia-lefteris-arapakis/?itid=sf_climate-environment_climate-solutions_Climate%20visionaries_p003_f001