Green is the new Black – Plastic Patrol

Over the past twelve months, we’ve heard more and more about the role that plastic is playing in the pollution of our planet.  The response has been huge.  Everybody seems to be talking about it. The government, industries, suppliers, the public.  And that’s great.  But there is of course a very big difference between talking about something and DOING something.  It’s for this reason that I feel very fortunate to have been pointed in the direction of a certain individual.  Lizzie Carr is indeed DOING something.  In fact, she’s making waves, quite literally, in the fight to clean up our waterways. This is Plastic Patrol by Paddle Board.

Lizzie’s back story is pretty incredible.  Having received a diagnosis of stage two thyroid cancer at age 25, her entire outlook on life changed.  She decided to quit her job in the corporate world and seek out the life she had always dreamed of living.  Not only does this new life see her celebrating her second year in remission, she is now the first woman to cross the English Channel, solo and unaided – on a Paddle board!  Having never actually set foot on a paddle board until after her radiotherapy treatment, it’s pretty impressive that Lizzie has also paddled the entire length of the English water ways.

It was during these two ambitious adventures that Lizzie first because aware of the major plastic pollution problem that we are now facing. 80% of all marine debris starts in land, in our canals, our rivers, before eventually flowing out to sea.  Lizzie decided she no longer wanted to be a part of this problem.  Not only that though, she set out to be a part of the solution with Plastic Patrol.

Plastic Patrol is the nationwide campaign to rid our waterways of plastic pollution.  Lizzie set up the campaign in 2016 in a bid to get people out on paddle boards, out on the water and cleaning up plastics as they go.  Simple as that, you turn up, you get a paddle board briefing and then you jump right in (not literally).  Doesn’t this sound like a brilliant way to get involved?  You can….. I did.

I caught up with Lizzie and her team of volunteers on the Nottingham canal.  Having planned to just take photos from the tow path, it was a daunting but pleasant surprise to be invited to actually participate in the collecting.  Now I have never paddle boarded before of course.  Until fairly recently I didn’t even really know what one was.  But still, I hopped aboard enthusiastically with my DSLR around my neck – after all this is Plastic Patrol by paddle board – litter picker in hand and I was on my merry way.  Slowly may I add – very slowly at first.

Paddle boarding is tougher than I had anticipated but also very relaxing.  And in just the short time that I was out on the canal, I became quite addicted to the feeling of prising plastic from the murky depths.  I was fully committed to my mission and it was so lovely and encouraging to hear people thanking us from the banks.

I couldn’t quite believe how much plastic was collected in just the two hours that I was present.  It’s alarming and it needs addressing. I asked Lizzie whether she feels like all of the good work Plastic Patrol do is “too little, too late?”  I couldn’t agree more with her answer.  “We fight from the source to tackle the problem from the root before it reaches our oceans. Therefore, everything we intercept is a victory and it all makes a difference.”

Just think about it for a moment.  You totally don’t have to be on a paddle board or picking up litter if that’s not your thing. If every single one of us just bought a reusable water bottle or a reusable coffee cup – how much single use plastic would this stop us from consuming in a week, a month, a year?  And if we aren’t consuming it then perhaps it isn’t ending up in our canals or rivers at all. Lizzie is so right.  Every little thing we do makes a difference now.  We can all be a part of this project to keep plastic out of our waters and oceans.  Don’t feel like even if you can’t participate in events like a canal clean up that you can’t contribute.  In fact, over the next few months, on this blog series I will be highlighting many plastic alternatives that you can switch to.  And if you can – then why wouldn’t you?  If not now, then when?

To keep up with Lizzie and the wonderful work she is doing you can follow her on Instagram or on the Plastic Patrol Facebook page.

A huge thanks to them for letting me come along and I will definitely be back next year to help out.

Beth Anne xoxo