Yes, the tremendous news this week is that one of the ‘watery’ charities that the Watermill supports, Ocean Bottle, has just reached a major milestone in its fight against ocean-bound plastic pollution. We are proud to have made our own (very small) contribution, aided by all the guests on our creative courses.
Ocean bottle announced: “Thanks to the collective efforts of our clients and customers, we’ve successfully funded the collection of over 11.4 million kg of plastic from harming our oceans. That’s the equivalent in weight to 1 billion single-use plastic bottles!To provide some perspective, the collected bottles would circle the Earth five times over.”
Supporting Ocean bottle’s efforts is part of our endeavour to make the Watermill Cool and Green. In partnership with Ocean Bottle, we’ve financed a scheme to collect each year 450 kgs of ocean-bound plastic from the world’s most polluted rivers and waterways and ensure that it is not dumped into the sea. This is equivalent to around 40,000 half-litre plastic bottles. It will make us ‘plastic neutral’ each year.
Plastic waste is the scourge of the oceans and their wildlife, and a couple of years ago we made a start in reducing our ‘plastic footprint’ by no longer buying water in plastic bottles. Instead, we invested in a clever water dispenser which produces filtered water at ambient temperature, cold and still, or cold and fizzy) for all our meals and for guests to use in the Ocean Bottle insulated flasks we will loan them during their week with us.
A rough estimate of the amount of plastic used at the Watermill during our creative weeks is around 450kgs, or about 1.8 kgs per guest. Working with the Ocean Bottle charity, we have done a deal both to buy their beautiful, insulated bottles and to pay into a scheme to ensure that all our plastic use is offset each year. In this way, our creative-course guests will know that they are plastic neutral during their weeks with us. Ocean Bottle works worldwide to bring a ‘people-powered solution to the ocean plastic crisis.’ Through the sales of its recyclable insulated bottles, it raises money to pay people to collect plastic in coastal communities where plastic pollution is worst,
The company guarantees this collection through regulated waste-management tracking and verification. The plastic collected is recycled, upcycled or reprocessed and this is also monitored. Moreover, the company works with local collectors, who exchange plastic for money, helping them to be more secure financially and to gain access to social resources such as healthcare and education..
Currently eight million metric tonnes (8,000 million kgs) of plastic winds up in the oceans every year.the we must continue the struggle as we start our second billion. the Watermill’s contribution may be a drop in the ocean (sorry about that!), but it’s important, nonetheless.