People vs plastic pollution

Preventing plastics from reaching our oceans within a generation means convincing every corner of society to take action now. Here's how Plastic Oceans UK is making strides doing just that. **By Natasha Rutherford, Plastic Oceans UK**

People vs plastic pollution:

Building a movement

By Natasha Rutherford,
Communications Manager,
Plastic Oceans UK

Businesses, governments, and non-profits have a major thing in common: the desire to influence people’s actions. What differs is the type and volume of people they each want to nudge. When your aim is to save the planet, or more specifically, our oceans, your audience is literally everyone. Because no matter who you are or where you call home, the health of our oceans will define your future.

Making the kind of change Plastic Oceans UK want to see in the world – at the speed the planet needs us to – calls for a multi-pronged strategy and a way of communicating that swiftly convinces and motivates people to act. Thankfully, we are far from alone in our mission and through combined efforts have seen the issue of plastics in our oceans enter and take root in the public consciousness, with legislation and businesses responding in kind.

8 million metric tons

of plastic a year ends up in the ocean, on estimate

Google trends: “Plastic ocean”. Click to expand.

The plastics movement is alive and kicking, but how did we get here?

Our approach has been to combine education and research initiatives with communications and PR campaigns that tap into both people’s rational and emotional selves.

Educating current and future decision-makers

We fund, review and promote research about the impact of plastic in our oceans, working with the Institute of Environment, Health, and Societies Department at Brunel University London to verify the scale of the problem and why we need to protect our oceans. Presenting the cold hard facts to policymakers and businesses makes it difficult for decision-makers to deny the problems and the need for change.

75%

of marine litter is made up of plastics

Children are the future caretakers of our planet. Our detailed lesson plans have been designed to help schools teach various age groups about the importance of our oceans and the threat posed by plastic pollution. We want to challenge young people to think creatively about how we as a species can live more sustainably with plastic and help them carry that mindset into adulthood.

How would you react to being served battered plastic?

Shock and awe

More often than not, facts and stats alone are not enough to inspire change, or even to draw proper attention to an issue. People need an emotional trigger to really give pause and pay attention. We design our campaigns to do just that.

Targeting British attitudes towards plastic in the ocean probably doesn’t get more on the nose than our Future of Fish and Chips campaign. If fish don’t grow and reproduce because they are eating plastic instead of plankton, will this be the end of our beloved national dish? To get lovers of the dish thinking about the problem in this context, we teamed up with a local chippie and served battered plastic, instead of fish, to unsuspecting customers who were rightfully outraged by the meal presented to them. How’s that for food for thought?

Our World Earth Day campaign pushed the uncomfortable truth of how marine life is impacted by our single-use plastic habits. We took the increasingly familiar images of trapped, strangled, and constrained turtles, sea birds, and other ocean life and recreated them with people as the victims. The result is a bold and visually powerful campaign that shocks and compels viewers to think twice about their own plastic consumption.

Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice

Anton Chekhov, Author and Playwright

Taking the message to the top

Tackling a problem as monumental as plastic pollution needs more than a single organization can offer. A network of like-minded organizations and influencers has been taking shape worldwide in recent years and is the bedrock of the wider movement. This network presents partnership opportunities that bring influential voices together to deliver a clear and pertinent message to the most powerful of decision-makers.

This spring we were proud to co-host an event at the houses of parliament with the Coalition for Global Prosperity and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Prevention of Plastic Waste. The occasion saw our CEO Jo Ruxton speak out on the issue to 150 MPs and business leaders alongside the deeply respected Sir David Attenborough, who highlighted the UK’s global responsibility to tackle the problem of plastic waste given the amount of it we produce and outsource to other nations.

Momentum is growing around the cause. The UK government has announced that it will double its aid support for pilot schemes to improve plastic recycling in some of the world’s poorest countries, from £3 million to £6 million. The EU recently voted to impose a sweeping ban on single-use plastics, with similar bans in discussion in the Americas. While this is hugely encouraging, there’s quite a way to go until we’ve cracked the problem of keeping plastic out of our oceans.

Onwards and upwards!

Have you reduced the amount of single-use plastic you consume in the last 2 years?

Yes, I avoid it like the plague that it is
Yes, though I could do more to cut down
No, it's not a priority for me
What's wrong with single-use plastic?