End Plastic Soup An initiative started by the Rotary Clubs of Amsterdam - a Rotary Amsterdam initiative 1 February 2019 v0.5
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End Plastic Soup
An initiative started by the Rotary Clubs of Amsterdam
1
Saparua, Moluccan, Indonesia, 2018
Picture: Kees Lafeber, island of Saparua, Moluccan, Indonesia, 2018
2
River Rhine, Leiden,
Netherlands, 2018
3
Picture: Gert-Jan van Dommelen
Pictures: Kees Lafeber, island of Saparua, Moluccan, Indonesia, 2018
Youtube: British diver films deluge of waste off Bali
4
Amsterdam June 2018, Start End Plastic Soup program – Leonardo da Vinci award for Boyan Slat
www.endplasticsoup.com
5
Agenda
• Facts about Plastic
• The Rotary Amsterdam initiative
• What can you do
6
Facts about Plastic: every minute 1 mio plastic bottles
Humans have created 8.3 billion tons of plastic to date:
– 320 million tons of plastic has been produced in 2016
– Every day approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find
their way into our oceans.
– In the US (4% of the global population), 500 million plastic
straws are used every day.
– Every minute 1 mio plastic bottles are bought around the world.
– The average time a plastic bag is used for is …12 min. then it
takes up to a thousand years to decompose.
7
Source: The Plastic Soup Foundation
320 million tons plastic has been produced in 2016 8
To date 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced 9
Facts about plastic: we only see 6% of the plastic in our oceans
6.3 billion tons have been disposed as waste.
– Only 9% has been recycled.
– The remaining 91% enters the air, land and water as waste.
– The Eastern Garbidge Patch in the Pacific is 3x the size of France.
– It is one of 5 of those areas in our oceans.
– The visible plastic in the water and at the beaches is estimated to
be only 6% of all plastics in our oceans.
Source: NOAA Marine Debris Program
10Facts about plastic: plastic kills more than 1 Mio animals every year
Plastic is threatening our existence on earth:
– Plastic residue is found in marine species – such as sea turtles,
seals, whales and birds, but also in fish and shellfish, and
therefore in the human food chain.
– Plastic is killing more than 1.1 million seabirds and animals every
year.
– Plastic is in plankton now. Plankton is at the start of the food
chain. Even more important Plankton is responsible for 1/3 of the
world’s CO2 absorption capacity and estimated between 50-80%
of the oxygen at our planet.
See also:
https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/
https://www.bytheoceanweunite.org/
https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/about-us
Source: The Plastic Soup Foundation
11Plastic does not go away, it all just gets smaller
Source: The Plastic Soup Foundation
12Agenda
• Facts about Plastic
• The Rotary Amsterdam initiative
• What can you do
13The Rotary Amsterdam initiative
This initiative started in June 2018 as a joint initiative of the Amsterdam
Rotary clubs when the Rotary Leonardo da Vinci award has been
presented to Boyan Slat, the initiator of the Ocean Clean Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3oAjNGcwHg&authuser
It is now supported by:
– The 11 European RCs in the Leonardo da Vinci network: Florence, Tours,
Vienna, Athens, Madrid, Würzburg, London, Brussels, Dublin, Copenhagen and
Amsterdam
– More than 30 clubs in D1580, the Netherlands, including all 20 clubs of Area
Amsterdam.
– Already more than 20 RCs in D1570, the Netherlands, including all 16 clubs of
Area Het Gooi, coordinated by RC Huizen Gooimeer.
– Münster, Berlijn, Leonberg, Sotra, Ørskog (Norway), Bruxelles, St. Maarten…
and considered by Nairobi (Kenya), Eindhoven-Zuid, Wuppertal (Germany),
Arendonk (Belgium), Dominica and Melbourne.
– RotarAct Europe and RotarAct Melbourne Australia
14Rotary can make it happen!
Rotary can be the driving force for to end the world’s Plastic Soup issue:
– 1.2 mio Rotarians can make a difference, able to collaborate with
many different organizations and bodies across the globe.
– Rotary has the ability because of its principles:
• Non-political, non-religious, and independent
• Able to reach out to a large network
• Welcoming diversity and making use of a wide variety of skills and
experiences.
– Rotary is an organization of action, motivating others.
– Rotary can be influential and persistent, a focus on sustainability,
priority for the local community needs, and safeguarding integrity.
– The End Plastic Soup program supports all six Areas of Focus.
15Supporting all six Areas of Focus (1 of 6)
End Plastic Soup is a theme that addresses all six Areas of Focus:
1. Promoting peace:
• Power over materials and resources has always been a
source of conflict.
• The EPS program addresses clean water supply end
healthy food/fish for all.
• Also the need for a new circular economy for plastics will
also contribute to a total circular economy that reduces the
dependency on scarce materials.
16Supporting all six Areas of Focus (2 of 6)
2. Fighting disease:
• Effects of plastic in human bodies is yet unknown, but it
effects our lungs and organs.
• The average person eats 70,000 microplastics each year:
about 100 bits of microplastic in just one meal.
• Parts end up in our lungs.
• The ESP program also addresses the threat to biodiversity,
which is a natural, and to a large extend still unknown
source for many cures.
17Supporting all six Areas of Focus 31 of 6)
3. Providing clean water is a major objective of our End Plastic Soup
program to ensure our rivers and oceans remain a healthy source
to life on our planet.
Also we strive to keep our drinking water and food free of plastics:
– We have established a collaboration with the River Clean Up project of
WASRAG: https://cleaningtheriversoftheworld.org/
– Today 80% of all tap water already contains micro-plastics and also
bottled water contains on average 10 micro-plastics per bottle.
– Recent research in Australia shows plastic bottles contain a fast
growing number of micro-plastics when they are re-used.
http://www.news.uwa.edu.au/2018121211165/great-debate-plastic-
versus-metal-water-bottles
18Supporting all six Areas of Focus (4 of 6)
4. Saving mothers and children:
• Effects of plastic in human bodies is yet unknown, however
initial research shows that plastic reduces the fertility of
animals. Nano-plastics can easily enter organs and could
have an impact on the growth of the unborn child.
• Also children are more vulnerable to health consequences.
• The EPS program also addresses the need to replace
diapers and sanitary with alternatives that do not contain
plastics that cannot be recycled.
See also: Plastic Health Coalition:
https://www.plastichealthcoalition.org/
19Supporting all six Areas of Focus (5 of 6)
5. Supporting education:
• The importance of awareness of the plastic soup issue is a
prime objective of the ESP program. Educating young
people will help to end our plastic pollution.
• The new circular economy for plastics requires different
skills to redesign, re-use, recycle and remove plastics.
20Supporting all six Areas of Focus (6 of 6)
6. Growing local economies:
• Developing local circular economies for plastics can help to
grow local economies.
• Examples of Trashless initiatives, e.g. The Association of
Recyclers in Bogotá, Colombia is an Independent
association that lives from managing the waste:
– Around 60,000 families live from this occupation in Colombia.
– Their income is based on the sale of the recovered materials.
– The project seeks a way to contribute to the environment by reusing
materials that today go to the landfills. They recover 250T p/mth
– It improves also the standard of living of the recyclers by providing an
alternative to building new homes or gradually improving current
homes with the plastic wood.
21Growing the Rotary organization!
The End Plastic Soup program unites all of us:
– Growing our Clubs and our organization by connecting to new
generations, inspiring our youth, and unifying multiple cultures
and countries.
– Enabling and enforcing collaboration and thereby offering a
unified platform to effectively address other issues.
– Creating a momentum for starting new clubs and reviving
smaller clubs.
– Increase speed of action regarding environmental, climate and
sustainability issues: those who become aware of the huge
problem and the facts, want to take action, now!
22Unifying all of us!
The End Plastic Soup program can be a platform for collaboration to
(indirectly) address other complex issues of sustainability:
– Reduced availability of materials like Antimony (batteries),
Indium (touch screens, solar panels), Silver, Copper, Titanium
(aircraft, armor), etc.
– Climate change, extreme weather and disasters.
– Pollution, fresh water and air, saving forests and plankton to
absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) and produce oxygen.
– Preserving biodiversity, preventing extinction of plants and
animals, and offering natural sources for human life and cures.
23Agenda
• Facts about Plastic
• Why this Rotary Amsterdam initiative
• What can you do?
24What can you do: Awareness, Action & Anticipation
We plan this program according to three elements:
1. Awareness:
– Support our initiative and tell others
– Organize education programs, seminars and create publicity
– Take your own Plastic Diet actions:
https://www.plastichealthcoalition.org/plastic-diet/
2. Action:
– Support an action on 1st June: End Plastic Soup day
– Include it in your year plan: local & regional actions
– Collaborate with NGOs and (local) government bodies
3. Anticipation
– Work with local communities to find alternative solutions and become plastic-free
– Support a new Plastics Economy using the “Rs”: Refuse, Reduce, Re-use,
Repair, Recycle, Redesign, Remanufacture and Remove.
– Support international initiatives.
25Sign the Petition!
The undersigned Rotary clubs and
members are aware of the threat of plastic
waste on land and in the oceans. We are
prepared to End Plastic Soup!
By signing this petition, we commit
ourselves to come into action and make
contributions (personal and as a club) to
end plastic waste and make 1.2 million
Rotarians in the world aware of this major
problem.
endplasticsoup.com
email: endplasticsoup@gmail.com
26Local initiatives and actions
1. Support the initiative
– Organize a local action on or before 1st June End Plastic Soup day
– Support us in Hamburg!
– Tell other (international) clubs to sign the petition
2. Local actions in the new Rotary year
– Include End Plastic Soup actions in your 2019/2020 plan
– We offer documentation and contacts you could use
– We have several action packages you can select
3. Create a local Awareness program:
– School & Sport Challenge: plastic separation & reduction at schools and sport clubs
– Event Challenge: zero-waste at (Rotary) Events
– Remove Plastic from your environment: River Clean Up and Bubble Barrier
27Local action: New Year’s Dive 2019 in Huizen, Netherlands
End Plastic Soup - School Challenge:
Enable waste separation and collection for all 200 schools
in Huizen and the Gooi Area, the Netherlands!
28Tips to reduce Plastic
The Plastic Diet: While travelling:
https://www.plastichealthcoalition.org/p • Use a Dopper to drink
lastic-diet/ – Tap water during breakfast
– Clean tap water with a
Steripen
– Use the Lifestraw Go
• Leave free bottles
• Don’t use straws
• Leave the (shampoo) minis in
your hotel room
• Carry your own bag for
shopping
https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/
newsroom-2/?afg0_page_id=5#afg-0
29Be The Inspiration - Rotary International President Barry Rassin Theme 2018-2019
Creating lasting change:
– This program could be a major factor to combine
forces to address other sustainability issues.
– And it can connect us, as Rotarians, across the
world. "Together, we see a world where people unite and take
action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our
communities, and in ourselves."
– It is a source of inspiration and can make Rotary’s service part of
a larger global system. “We want the good we do to last. We
want to make the world a better place. Not just here, not just for
us, but everywhere, for everyone, for generations.”
– We can become the organization of choice for young people, for
women who are seeking to serve. We can offer them something
of value. Our membership can be revived and Rotary can grow
again.
30Rotary Connects The World - Rotary International President-elect Mark Daniel Maloney
A more sustainable world:
– Rotary allows us to connect with each other, in deep
and meaningful ways, across our differences. It
connects us to our communities, to professional
opportunities, and to the people who need our help.
– Through Rotary, we connect to the incredible diversity of
humanity on a truly unique footing, forging deep and lasting ties
in pursuit of a common goal. In this ever more divided world,
Rotary connects us all.
– Rotary shares the United Nations’ enduring commitment to a
healthier, more peaceful, and more sustainable world. And
Rotary offers something no other organization can match: an
existing infrastructure that allows people from all over the world
to connect in a spirit of service and peace and take meaningful
action toward that goal.”
31End Plastic Soup: let us start!
• Movie at Youtube: Plastic Soup: The biggest soup in the world!
https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=gUCx-j4Gk_k&t=0s
• 22nd April 2019: Earth Day focuses this year on ending plastic
pollution. https://www.earthday.org/about/
• 1st June: End Plastic Soup Day: endplasticsoup.com
32End Plastic Soup
Thank you for connecting!
endplasticsoup@gmail.com
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