BIO Balls for a BIO Future

Marine systems are exposed to many forms of human pressure, and climate change, as well as excessive amounts of plastic and other kind of waste in the sea, and the destruction of the sea and the seabed, have caused major environmental changes in the coastal and marine ecosystems. It is therefore necessary to raise awareness about the role of the sea and the ocean, and educate primarily the younger generations about the importance of protecting them and the need to preserve marine habitats. This was the goal that Cromaris experts had in mind when devising the project “Bio Balls for a Bio Future”, whose object was to preserve the marine habitats and restore the seabed in the municipality of Sali.

The project was carried out in collaboration with the elementary school “Petar Lorini” at Sali, where Renata Barić, our Head of Research and Development, held an educational lecture about biodiversity in the Adriatic Sea, its protected flora and fauna, and the ways of reducing human influence on marine habitats. The main purpose of the lecture was to raise awareness in the children about the need to protect the sea and the marine environment, and to encourage them to protect this very important natural resource. After the lecture, roughly 70 schoolchildren participated in the bio balls making workshop with the help of Cromaris employees, followed by an interactive play by the Zadar Puppet Theatre about protecting the sea and recycling waste.

5,000 balls were made during the workshop and after a month-long drying period, they were thrown into the sea. Made from clay and effective microorganisms that feed on waste material in the environment, the bio balls break down on the seabed and release oxygen and other useful elements, thus contributing to the restoration of biodiversity of the seabed.

In order for the bio balls to have an even greater impact, Cromaris also organized the cleaning of the mechanical waste from the seabed in the Sali port as part of the project. Divers of KPA Zadar diving club extracted roughly 1 ton of waste, mostly glass bottles, rope, concrete pots, plastic, and iron. Samples from the seabed were taken before the balls were thrown in for the purpose of the analysis of sediment, and the sampling was repeated two months later in order to study the effect of the bio balls.  

As a socially responsible company, aware of the global challenges of sustainability, Cromaris is actively involved in numerous projects and activities with the purpose of improving the community and helping its progress. This project is a result of the efforts of Cromaris expert team to protect biodiversity and marine ecosystems. The whole local community contributed to the project “Bio Balls for a Bio Future”, from the elementary school and the organizations specialized in that field to businesses and our volunteers. This project is only one of the many campaigns led by Cromaris in the local community, with the common goal of raising public awareness of the fact that the sea is one of the most valuable resources at our disposal, and that we have to protect it. Only by conducting a series of planned ecological campaigns can we bring about positive changes and reduce the quantity of waste in the sea.

Duration of the project: 1 June 2023 – 31 December 2023

The project “Bio Balls for a Bio Future” is co-funded by the EU’s European Maritime and Fisheries Fund