Time to turn the tap off: the fight against beach plastic pollution is not over.
Time to turn the tap off: the fight against beach plastic pollution is not over
As an old article from the Guardian is doing the rounds again, we’ve been drawn to the damaging headline which could dissuade individuals from helping where they can.
A beach cleaner from west Wales is giving up beach cleaning due to ‘feeling like he’s spent the last four years on the losing team’ to focus his efforts elsewhere. Over four years he has managed to clear thousands of pieces of litter from Abersytwyth’s beaches, which is amazing. A lot of our team have spent many years being part of beach cleans and totally understand how the continued wave of waste can feel like a losing battle.
The Guardian captioned the video “Plastic pollution: ‘I’m giving up. You probably should too’”. We believe this is misleading and irresponsible from a paper that is claiming to inform readers about threats, consequences and solutions based on scientific facts, not political prejudice or business interests. Alan is not giving up the fight for the environment but just focusing his efforts in what he believes to be a more effective area.
Although beach cleans are not the solution to plastic pollution, they are a valuable tool in highlighting the far-reaching impact of plastic pollution, they help connect communities to their environment and are often the starting point for individual change. Each piece of litter picked up is one less piece that could kill an innocent animal. As awareness on the issues facing our environment spreads, there is a growing sense of community for those involved with local projects. Last year during the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Great British Beach Clean week in September, a total of 8550kg were cleared from 484 beaches around the UK, demonstrating the cumulative impact we can have as individuals.
When it comes to tackling large corporations, we cannot just roll over and let them get away with their actions. By using our voices and wallets we can work together to make big changes. Writing, tweeting and tagging corporations or businesses to highlight where they could make improvements and buying plastic-free options will drive the changes we want to see.
The positive changes of our actions are beginning to show. One survey reported a 53% decrease in single-use plastic usage in the UK over the last year, and the 5p bag charge resulted in an 85% decrease in plastic bag sales. Thousands of volunteers have been working to keep water ways clean with a range of organisations including Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), MCS, National Trust and the Wildlife Trust. With around 1000 schools signed up to SAS Plastic Free Schools program and over 20,000 businesses signed up to be part of the Refill Campaign, we are certainly not alone in turning the tide against plastic.
The Plastic Free Communities Campaign is a fantastic starting point for businesses and individuals to take the first steps on their plastic free journey. However, from our experience, maintaining initial enthusiasm and momentum of the movement requires a substantial resource network. We have been lucky enough to be funded by the Pickwell Foundation. This has been imperative for us to keep growing over the last couple of years. During our journey in tackling plastic pollution we have shifted our focus from just beach cleans to the sources of the problem. Most of our time is spent working with businesses, schools and awareness programs. We have expanded our outreach capabilities with a virtual reality (VR) dive experience. The VR has been excellent in engaging children and families. The images are beautiful underwater-scapes containing several threatened species, including green turtles and Galapagos Sealions. This has encouraged children to connect their actions with their impact on the environment. We have also used our water bar at events across North Devon, including Goldcoast Oceanfest and Croyde Triathlon, to help them to become plastic free events. Over the summer the water bar has served over 3,600 litres of water, which has saved the equivalent to around 7,200 plastic water bottles.
To continue to deliver effective methods to impact plastic pollution, communities need to branch out and tackle sources of the problem, acting to ‘turn of the tap’. For communities interested in being able to make a real difference, we suggest not to go it alone or get bogged down against the wave of waste. Definitely keep beach cleaning!