The majority of the plastic pollution found on beaches are avoidable, single-use items, such as straws, stirrers, plastic bottles, plastic bags, disposable lighters, plastic cotton bud sticks, condiment sachets, etc.

 

These all have an upstream solution to prevent their presence on our beaches and in our oceans. This is what plastic free communities are designed to do.

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It is the only step-by-step community framework, uniting individuals, schools, businesses, community groups and local government to drive action on reducing local use of avoidable single-use plastics.

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WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH PLASTIC IN OUR OCEANS?

 

For wildlife, it can be deadly. Plastic can entangle, injure and drown animals; it can also be mistaken for food and starve animals to death by blocking their digestive systems.

 

For us humans it’s not looking good either. At risk are our wild spaces and oxygen supply as well as our health. The chemicals that plastics leach into seawater have been linked to endocrine disruption and some cancers.

 

With 1 in 3 fish caught for human consumption now containing plastic, it’s no longer a question of if there is plastic in our seafood, but how bad exactly that contamination is for us.

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What can we do about it?

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It’s impossible to get the existing 269,000 tonnes of plastic out of the ocean, but together we can stop putting more in. By creating a global network of Plastic Free Communities, people are coming together in a collective effort to reduce the flow of unnecessary single-use plastics into the marine environment.

 

It’s a two tiered approach:

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1. Taking individual action. Sign up to receive your free Individual Action Plan for reducing your plastic use. Share the campaign, find a Plastic Free Community in your area, or chip in a few pounds to help support the project.

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2. Surfers Against Sewage are encouraging communities to work together to become plastic free. They are committed to tackling the issue of plastics in the ocean at every level, from asking individuals to reduce their plastic consumption to lobbying government for changes to legislation.

Discover their other plastic free campaigns:

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