Volunteers from the #OneLess campaign and partner organisation Thames21, showed their loved for the Thames and the ocean last week by collecting plastic bottles washed up along the foreshore of the River Thames.
After finding 185 plastic bottles in just under an hour, volunteers sent out a heartfelt message to Londoners about the health of the River Thames and the ocean, calling on citizens to show their love for the ocean this Valentine’s day by ditching single-use plastic water bottles and joining the refill revolution.
Since June 2016, Thames21 and #OneLess have collected over 23,000 single-use plastic drink bottles from the shoreline of the River Thames, approximately 40 per cent of which were water bottles. With the average adult in London using over three plastic water bottles a week, going #OneLess and choosing to not buy bottled water can help to drastically reduce the amount of plastic flowing into the river and ultimately our ocean.
Fiona Llewellyn, Project Manager of the #OneLess campaign, hosted at the Zoological Society of London said, “Taking the #OneLess pledge to stop buying bottled water is a simple step we can all take to ensure that fewer plastic bottles end up in the ocean. From retailers to public bodies – from corporations to communities – we’re calling on all those who love London and the ocean to join our movement and become part of the refill revolution.”
Globally, eight million tonnes of plastic enters the ocean each year–that’s equivalent to one rubbish lorry full, every minute of every day. If nothing changes, it is predicted that plastic in the ocean may outweigh fish by as soon as 2050. Just as the Thames is the major artery which has always given life to this great city, so the ocean is its heart, sending water, oxygen, clean air, fish and nutrients along the river, making London habitable and healthy.
Show your personal commitment to the Thames and the ocean by going #OneLess; stop buying single-use plastic water bottles and use a refillable bottle instead.
