Since lockdown has been lifted there has been an explosion of plastic pollution on our beaches and in our rivers. Our streets have become littered with PPE and Big Business has seen the pandemic as a loophole to revert back to their old ways of pumping out single-use and unnecessary plastics. In France alone, authorities have ordered two billion disposable masks and reports have stated that the Mediterranean will soon contain more masks than jellyfish. Surfers Against Sewage and communities of ocean activists across the country are mobilising to fight this wave of plastic inundating our environment. The Generation Sea: Plastic Protest will see ocean activists everywhere stand up and fight for a better world free of avoidable, excessive and single use plastic.
Images of popular UK beauty spots devastated by plastic pollution have become the norm, and whilst many try to use disposal facilities responsibility, bins are bursting at the seams. This has highlighted the pressure that waste and recycling systems are under to cope with the sheer volume of material needing to be dealt with.
Chantelle Grundy, BC Access & Environment Officer
British Canoeing will be calling upon its members, volunteers, staff and coaches to get involved in one of the six campaign actions, which range from beach cleans to plastic free school initiatives. For the third year running, The Canoe Foundation will also be supporting the campaign, ensuring clubs can get their hands on river clean up equipment.
Amy Slack, Surfers Against Sewage’s Head of Campaigns and Policy
Starting on the UK’s beaches, the protest will see groundswell actions all aimed at highlighting the irrefutable evidence of the plastic pollution crisis. The series of events will include:
Jack Middleton, Surfers Against Sewage’s Community and Events Manager
We have seen the Government roll back on the progress we have made in tackling the plastic pollution crisis. The 5p plastic bag change has be waived for food deliveries, the ban on straws, stirrers and cotton bud sticks, that was just weeks away from being introduced, has been postponed, and delays in the Environment Bill are likely to result in yet further delays to the introduction of deposit return systems and extended producer responsibility, both critical components of reducing the scourge of plastic pollution.
This cannot go on.
To take part register at www.sas.org.uk or email beachcleans@sas.org.uk
To find out more about how you can organise your own paddle cleanup, visit the Clear Access, Clear Waters campaign site.