How You Can Help...
Globally, plastic litter is a problem in the marine environment endangering the planet’s human and wildlife population. If you choose to help you will be part of a community of like minded people who are working to improve our environment.
If you have a little time to spare there are several ways you can get involved...
2 Minute Beach Clean
Take 2 minutes to fill your pockets or whatever else you may have handy. Take a photo, tweet it using @Keep_Wales_Tidy #2minutebeachclean. Don’t forget to tell us where you collected it.
Coast Champion
If you find that you can’t commit to being part of a more formal group you may want to consider becoming a Coast Champion. Keep Wales Tidy provides the resources and support to let you get down and dirty.
Coast Care Group
Many hands make light work, forming a group is a great opportunity to get friends, family and colleagues onto the beach to help keep our coastline clean and beautiful. Make it a social event, take refreshments, have a BBQ, sit and enjoy the results of your efforts.
Some facts that may motivate you
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Every piece of plastic that has ever been produced is still in existence in some form.
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At some marine sites microplastic pollution (less than 5mm in diameter) occurs at a higher concentration than that of plankton.
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The EU estimates that there is 100,000 tonnes of plastic in our oceans
When it seems to be overwhelming and you can’t see that your efforts can make a difference, Coast Care can provide resource and information. There is an experienced Project Officer in every county so wherever you are there is help at hand to guide you.
It does make a difference!
https://www.facebook.com/keepwalestidy
https://twitter.com/keep_wales_tidy
Words from Gareth...
Is the bargain really worth it? We live in an age of consumerism and waste. Supermarkets are covering their products in more and more unnecessary plastics and packaging in order to appeal to our sense of order. Apples are neatly packed into groups of four, leeks into two and even single broccoli heads are wrapped up with a bright red sticker on it telling you that it's a bargain. Your five a day is carefully compartmentalised to seem easier, cheaper and better for you but is it a bargain knowing that each little plastic container will take between 500 to 1000 years to deteriorate from this planet? Is it a bargain knowing that one million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed each year from plastic in our oceans? Is it a bargain if the cost includes 10,000 to 100,000 species going extinct each year?
Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century with us recovering only 5% of the plastics we produce. It all seems incredibly daunting and I have thrown a lot of facts and figures at you and you're hopefully wondering how you could possibly help. Here are a couple of suggestions...
Go out your front door. Look around. Can you see any litter yet? Maybe you're lucky and live in a very clean neighbourhood, or maybe you're looking but not seeing. Once you start seeing litter you'll notice that it is EVERYWHERE and it may feel like it is impossible to help, but you can. Even if you pick up just a few bits next time you walk to the shop you will be helping and you may even inspire some people along the way. You could also convince some friends to get together, organise a clean up in an area near you and have some fun in the process!
Another way that I believe would help would be to shop locally for your fruit, vegetables and meat. This is my own opinion and comes from my experience of shopping locally but if you do you can buy better quality food, go plastic free, and strengthen the economic base of the community. Also, as you get to know your local butcher or green grocer you usually end up getting freebies and all whilst reducing environmental impact... that's the real bargain.
If you like this check out...
Two Hands Project
The award winning Two Hands Project educates on the issue of plastic pollution, advocates design based solutions and inspires people globally to remove plastic pollution from their Environment. With the simple concept of ‘Two Hands – 30 minutes – ANYtime ANYwhere.’ Pioneering the sharing of clean-up photos online the concept has gone global, with tens of thousands fans on Socialmedia alone. We challenge participants to look for ‘smart designs’ and think of ways to 'redesign' of the main pollutants they come across.
Website : http://www.twohandsproject.org/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/twohandsproject
Instagram : https://instagram.com/twohandsproject/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/2handsproject
EcoWatch
