We've all seen the David Attenborough documentaries about the oceans, dreamt of a single-use-free utopia and have a hoard of tote bags filling the space under the sink that used to be occupied by their flimsy plastic cousins. But it can often feel like our well-intentioned actions are just scratching the surface when it comes to the plastic problem, and no amount of bags for life are going to fix it.
But, there might just be something you can do this year – where you can directly see your action’s impact. The Corona and Parley Protect Paradise collaboration is a worldwide initiative aimed at cleaning up the world’s coastlines. It’s already going great guns, with 25,000 volunteers having completed 537 clean-ups across 23 countries. That’s more than 3 million square-metres of beach. Now it’s time for the UK to get involved.
How does it work? Well, for every limited edition Corona x Parley pack purchased, Corona and Parley will commit to cleaning one square-metre of local beach. They’re aiming to sell more than 1 million of these, so from launch (on World Oceans’ Day, June 8), the Corona and Parley-organised Protect Paradise collaboration will see 68 beach cleans take place around the UK’s coastline across the summer, with the aim to clean more than one million square metres of beach (the equivalent of more than 140 football pitches).
It’s not just about the beach clean-ups, though. On World Oceans’ Day, The Protect Paradise movement is also encouraging people all over the UK to give up one item of single-use plastic for one month, as a way to avoid unnecessary plastic items that might pollute the oceans. Want to get involved? Simply choose your single use plastic item you want to give up for a month and tell everyone about it using #protectparadise @CoronaUK on Twitter and #protectparadise @Corona on Instagram.
We reckon you’ll already be tempted to get in on the action, but if you need any more reasons to get involved, here are five below to get you started...
The beach clean-ups start on June 21 but check the website below for when your nearest beach is getting combed.
Sure, you've cut out the disposable coffee cups and have a colourful collection of reusable metal water bottles in all shades of the rainbow, but that doesn't help rid the world of all the plastic waste out there in the oceans already. Pick up a litter picker and take plastic out of the environment for good!
As well as organising the event, Parley is bringing an educational element to proceedings. The ocean conservationists will be on hand to explain all about the impact of your actions and how you can reduce your single-use plastic usage on a day-to-day basis.
Despite not even making the top 10 in Europe when it comes to size, the UK sits in fifth place in the European coastline league, what with it being an island and its numerous bays and peninsulas. There's therefore an awful lot of coastline (12,429km to be precise) and marine life to protect from the plague of single-use plastic .
If the closest you’ve got to feeling the sand beneath your toes recently was in one of London's urban pop-up beaches, then what are you waiting for? Not only will you get to feel like you’re making a difference, but the sea air will help to blast away the cobwebs. And who knows? If it’s warm enough, you could even go for a celebratory dip in the sea after. Disconnect from the hustle and bustle, people.
Trying to cut back on your air miles and looking to stay in the UK this summer? Take your carbon-neutral holidaying up a notch and head for one of the beach cleans taking place in places as far-afield as Lyme Regis, Blackpool, Barry or Great Yarmouth. Stay on after for a blissed out break and a freshly cleaned beach. Win win.