Leading Organisation

Mediterracom

Duration

6 months, starting the 1st of February 2026

Location

Barcelona-Badalona, Spain

Taking place between Barcelona and Badalona, WIPES OUT! addresses a largely invisible but pervasive form of marine pollution: flushed wet wipes. When wet wipes are disposed of via toilets instead of bins, they travel from bathrooms through sewers, rivers and wastewater treatment plants, ultimately reaching coastal waters, where they damage marine ecosystems, fisheries and community well-being.

Led by Mediterracom, a cooperative specialising in environmental education and communication, the project brings together citizens, artists, scientists, fishers and decision-makers to make this hidden pollution pathway visible, understandable and actionable.

The initiative combines citizen science, participatory performance and civic dialogue. Communities collaboratively trace the journey of wet wipes from land to sea, transforming scientific evidence into collective performances that turn data into emotion, awareness and shared responsibility. An open-access “suitcase toolkit” enables other communities to replicate and adapt the process in different coastal contexts.

The main public event and the PartArt4OW Sailing Lab are hosted at La Mar d’Activitats, Port Vell (Barcelona), a hub for public engagement with the sea.

Expected Outcomes

By the end of the project, WIPES OUT! is expected to deliver the following outcomes:

• Increased awareness of flushed wet wipes as a source of marine pollution among citizens and local stakeholders.
• Active citizen participation in tracing and documenting the pathway of wet wipes from bathrooms to the sea.
• Co-created participatory performances translating scientific data into accessible and emotionally engaging public experiences.
• Strengthened ocean literacy and understanding of everyday behaviours that contribute to marine pollution.
• An open-access suitcase toolkit containing methodologies, materials and communication assets for replication.
• Enhanced collaboration between citizens, fishers, scientists, artists and decision-makers around pollution prevention.

Expected Impacts

Short-term impacts

• Behavioural change related to the disposal of wet wipes, reducing the volume entering wastewater systems.
• Prevention of potentially tens of tonnes of wet wipes from reaching Mediterranean coastal waters each year.
• Increased sense of agency among participants, linking personal habits to collective environmental outcomes.

Medium- to long-term impacts

• Establishment of a replicable, participatory model for addressing hidden forms of marine pollution.
• Contribution to policy dialogue and local decision-making through evidence-based, community-generated insights.
• Scaling of the approach across other cities, coastal communities and Mediterranean contexts.
• Long-lasting cultural change in how everyday pollution is perceived, discussed and acted upon.

Main Investigators and Key Leads

Chantal Ménard (Mediterracom) – Project Coordinator & Environmental Communication

Roberta Genova (Mediterracom) – Artistic Co-director

Anna Bozzano – Marine Scientist & Educator

Ramon Guimaraes – Artist, Visual Storyteller and Performer