Let's ban polystyrene bodyboards!
Plastic Free Torridge, Plastic Free North Devon and Keep Britain Tidy’s Ocean Recovery Project are today announcing a single question referendum on the sale of cheap polystyrene bodyboards across northern Devon.
Cheap polystyrene bodyboards have blighted coastlines across the world for decades. Annually, hundreds of thousands of low-cost body boards are discarded on beaches across the world. Keep Britain Tidy report that 16,000 cheap polystyrene bodyboards ended up discarded on UK beaches every year. Hundreds of these “sub £10” brightly coloured boards, known to break easily often after only one or two uses, are invariably discarded on northern Devon beaches by angry parents who feel cheated. These 16,000 single use boards create a large amount of waste in the UK and create a huge carbon footprint.
These boards, made from a block of standard polystyrene wrapped in brightly printed nylon cloth, are sourced from China, transported thousands of miles only to snap within minutes of use. Standard polystyrene is fragile and crumbles easily posing danger to sea and shore life alike as animals mistake these small white nuggets for food - Polystyrene Popcorn. In the ocean, algae and small organisms grow on crumbled polystyrene or Polystyrene Popcorn adding weight causing the nuggets to sink and present itself as food to fish. The human health threat from polystyrene comes from one of its building blocks Styrene. In 2018, the World Health Organisation reclassified Styrene from a “possible carcinogen” to a “probable carcinogen” – a probable cause of cancer.
“Today we launch our northern Devon Bodyboard Referendum”, confirmed Andrew Cross, Plastic Free Torridge. “These, often single use, cloth covered polystyrene bodyboards are a blight on our beaches. We are seeking the voluntary support of retailers across the region to remove these items from sale. If you want to send a message to local retailers about these bodyboards, find LET'S BAN CHEAP POLYSTYRENE BODYBOARDS on Facebook and have your vote.”
The Referendum asks one question:
“Should cheap, brightly printed, cloth covered, polystyrene bodyboards be removed from sale at every retailer across northern Devon?”
With both local MP’s supporting the campaign, both District Councils considering motions in early 2021, a curriculum letter writing project for local school children and on-going promotion of bodyboard rental scheme, we hope to see a considerable reduction in he number of bodyboards discarded across northern Devon beaches.
“Plastic Free North Devon are proud to be partnering in this campaign”, stated Claire Moodie, CEO, Plastic Free North Devon. “There is considerable concern across the region about the negative impact these polystyrene boards have on our local wildlife. The success of our wooden belly board rental scheme last summer confirmed that if we can make alternatives available, people will use them.”
“This campaign further spotlights the concern about polystyrene bodyboards”, commented Neil Hembrow, Ocean Recovery Project Manager, Keep Britain Tidy. ”Last summer, such a short holiday season, we collected over 300 discarded bodyboards from Croyde beach alone despite ever growing awareness of the plastic pollution crisis we are facing.”
Anyone wanting to vote in the northern Devon Bodyboard Referendum should visit, www.bancheapbodyboards.co.uk, join the group and vote.
Voting will be open until midnight on 31st December 2020.