A bubble bath from the 1970s, a detergent from the 1980s, popsicles with a vintage taste: Archeoplastica, from June 17 to August 17, 2025 at Immaginario Scientifico and BioMa in Trieste, exhibits ancient plastic products that came from the Mediterranean Sea, to tell a never-ending story: that of plastic and its incredible persistence in the environment.

Archeoplastica is a project born in 2018 from an idea of Enzo Suma, a nature guide who began collecting plastic waste found on beaches. It all started with the discovery of a tanning foam from the 1960s, with the back still legible, on which was the price in lira. Posted on social media, that photo aroused amazement and reflection: how was it possible for a plastic object to still be intact after half a century? Hence the intuition of the need to raise awareness of the issue of pollution of the seas, brought about by the use of plastic and, specifically, its improper end-of-life management.

Since then Suma began collecting more and more objects, turning them into contemporary “fossils” that speak to our environmental impact. The project was made official in 2021 and today has hundreds of objects, which can be viewed online, many also reported by an active community on Instagram and TikTok. The collected objects are also part of traveling exhibitions throughout Italy.

The exhibition now comes to Trieste, organized by Immaginario Scientifico, in collaboration with WWF Miramare Marine Protected Area and AcegasApsAmga. It offers a selection of plastic objects collected as part of this curious and significant project. Objects that, even through the “nostalgic” aspect, will shed light on the environmental and educational aspect of the subject.

Among the exhibits in Trieste is one that is very special to our region: an informational sign from the Foce dell’Isonzo Nature Reserve, which probably left due to a storm surge and was found on the beaches of Brindisi. After crossing the entire Adriatic Sea, from north to south, and after the exhibition at the Immaginario Scientifico, it will return “home,” to the place from where it started.