TV Stars back #NotWhaleFood
The colossal amount of plastic waste from single-use water bottles and other sources equates to more than the combined weight of every single living blue whale (the largest creature ever to have lived on earth) and equal to five grocery bags filled with plastic for every single foot of the world’s coastline. This number is set to double to 10 bags full by 2025.
#NotWhaleFood is supported by BRITA and is being backed by Julia Bradbury and Michaela Strachan and kicked off with an urban beach clean with WDC staff and volunteers outside the Houses of Parliament to highlight that up to 80% of the plastic in the seas comes from litter originally dropped in our towns and cities, with our reliance on single-use plastic bottles being a huge factor in this problem.
Britons use 7.7 billion single-use plastic water bottles a year but recycle only a limited number, with many more finding their way into the sea through rivers and waterways, where they deteriorate into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic that are often toxic and easily eaten by fish and other marine species.
Julia, who is a WDC patron, and co-founder of online resource, The Outdoor Guide, said: ‘I am proud to be helping to launch the #NotWhaleFood campaign with Whale and Dolphin Conservation and BRITA. The volume of plastic in our seas and the impact it has on beloved species such as whales and dolphins is one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time and something that we should all be profoundly concerned about. With up to 80% of the plastic in the sea originating in litter from urban areas, this is something we all have a responsibility to act on. From carrying reusable water bottles to cutting down our usage of plastic bags, there are so many small changes we can make to have a positive impact. We can’t afford to delay.’
Find out more about the problem of plastic and how you can help by visiting notwhalefood.com
