When you think about ocean plastic – something we’ve all started thinking a lot more about since Sir David bought it to our attention – it’s easy to picture (possibly with a pang of guilt) that plastic bottle you picked up at Pret for lunch.
And there’s no denying that single-use items are an enormous problem.
But over 70% of plastic waste found on UK shores actually comes from lost or discarded fishing nets.
These ‘ghost’ nets persist in our seas and on our beaches for hundreds of years.
They are lethally effective at killing marine life (that is their job, after all), and when they finally break down, they become insidious micro-plastics that infiltrate our food chain.
So while we’ve all been saying no to plastic straws and carrying our reusables with pride, one major industry has still been flooding the seas with plastic.
And many people would feel powerless in the face of such a large-scale problem that falls, for the most part, beyond their purchasing power.
But not the folks at Behaviour Change Cornwall who, as their name suggests, are rolling up their sleeves and tackling the problem head on!
(Image credit: Behaviour Change Cornwall)
As you might expect from an organisation rooted in the principles of behaviour change, they’re taking a systemic approach to solve the problem.
Step one: stop plastic entering the ocean in the first place.
Through their campaigns, the team are working hard to turn the plastic pollution tap off. From collaborative research project susing insights gained from behavioural science, to teaming up with creatives, environmentalists and businesses to create new behaviour-changing articles, initiatives and actions, Behaviour Change Cornwall are encouraging everyone to do their bit to stop plastic from heading out to sea.
Step two: undo the harm that’s already been done
Every year 8 million tonnes of plastic pollution gets dumped into the ocean.
That number is simply too big and abstract to think about.
But it breaks down to roughly 51 plastic bottles per person every year.
You wouldn’t go and throw 51 bottles into the ocean now, would you?
And if you saw a bottle on the beach, you’d pick it up, right?
The good news is, you don’t have to go on a beach clean to make an impact.
(Image credit: Behaviour Change Cornwall)
Behaviour Change Cornwall have developed a range of Ocean-Positive products. Beautiful jewellery handcrafted from (well cleaned!) ghost nets, named after the beach or cove where it was found – to help restore our sense of connection to nature.
Every purchase helps fund more beach cleans and behaviour change campaigns. And by turning long-forgotten ghost nets into a cherished item that people will never discard, they’re helping to put an end to this problem haunting our coastline.
Wear your anchor bracelet with pride knowing you’ve helped fund direct action.
#ShopEthicalInstead with Behaviour Change Cornwall, because it’s time to turn off the plastic tap and protect our precious oceans.
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