A couple of years ago when we started TAPP Water, we were baffled by the dimensions of plastic pollution on a global as well as local scale. An early morning stroll on the beach in our home city Barcelona was an eye-opening experience, as it confirmed the shocking stuff we had read about plastic pollution online, including its impact on oceans and marine life.
Thankfully there are now a lot of organizations now that are fighting plastic waste.
First of all, we hope that you've become a TAPP Hero and given up bottled water.
Below are 8 of the best initiatives and organizations fighting plastic pollution which we believe are well worth supporting.
Precious Plastic
One of the early initiatives is Precious Plastic. Precious Plastic started as a graduation project by Dutchman Dave Hakkens in 2013 and has quickly evolved into one of the most original and engaging ways of handling plastic waste. The idea is to build a machine that will allow you to process your own plastic waste and create something new out of it. For now, four different processing principles (extrusion, injection, compression, shredding). It’s all low-cost and DIY, as the website provides all the necessary guidelines and instructions in detail to start building.
Plastic Pollution Coalition
PPC is a high-profile movement launched in 2009 to raise awareness around the threat that single-use, disposable plastic poses to the planet. Notable folks have joined the coalition over the last years, including writers Margaret Atwood and Richard Ford, singer Bette Midler, and actor Martin Sheen. If you haven’t seen Jeff Bridges’ moving wake-up call yet, check it out here.
Clean Ocean Project
Founded in 2000 in the Canary Islands, the Clean Ocean Project is a donation-based NGO dedicated to raising awareness about the pollution of oceans. They also regularly organize beach cleanings and encourage the avoidance of plastic bags and other single-use plastic items. One of the best and most interesting ecologic initiatives in Spain.
The Ocean Cleanup
The idea behind The Ocean Cleanup, founded in 2013 by 18-year-old Boyan Slut from the Netherlands, is nothing less than the largest ocean cleanup in history, by extracting and intercepting plastic waste in the seas. Since then they've also expanded to clean-up solutions for rivers. As one of the most ambitious and exciting environmental projects out there, the project has a scope that is actually too large to properly sum it up in a couple of lines. That is why we encourage you to head over to their website and find out more. This is maybe the most creative ecologic initiative.
Plastic Oceans
Supported by a range of organizations and like-minded movements such as the aforementioned PPC, Plastic Oceans is an NGO with an ambitious goal: eradicate all plastic waste from the world’s water ecosystems, including rivers, lakes, and, of course, oceans. The organization’s website features a panoply of insightful and shocking facts about plastic waste that will make you think twice before using a plastic bag or purchasing a bottle of water. Ecologic initiatives are necessary for avoiding plastic and cleaning up the oceans.
The Story of Stuff
Founded in 2007, The Story of Stuff is an ecologic initiative that wants to promote more sustainable ways of producing, using, and disposing of stuff in daily life. The aim is to raise awareness of the indefensible ways many goods are currently made and consumed through insightful and instructive videos and various petitions which you can sign directly on their site. Our favorite video? The Story of Bottled Water, of course.
Save Our Shores
Educational efforts, cleanup initiatives, and clean boating are three of the pillars this California-based NGO is built upon. Save Our Shores vision is that of a healthy marine ecosystem, and in order to achieve that, any donation and/or helping hand will be more than welcome.
Let’s Clean Up Europe
Let’s Clean Up Europe is a network that coordinates cleanup actions all across Europe. In 2015, for instance, the folks at LCUE thus organized more than 3000 actions, collecting almost 4000 tonnes of waste from beaches, oceans, and forests. Joining local cleanups or setting them up yourself through LCUE is easy and straightforward!
Changing Markets Foundation
The Changing Markets Foundation was formed to accelerate and scale up solutions to sustainability challenges by leveraging the power of markets.
Working in partnership with NGOs, other foundations, and research organizations, we create and support campaigns that shift market share away from unsustainable products and companies and towards environmentally and socially beneficial solutions.
Check out their latest report Talking Trash on the Spanish bottled water markets greenwashing.
How does TAPP Water Contribute?
Our goal is to eliminate the need for bottled water by promoting tap water and other alternatives. Check out the impact you or someone you know can have by giving up bottled water in our savings impact calculator.
Let's keep fighting against plastic pollution!
PS. Want to learn more about plastic pollution and what you can do about it? Read this great guide by SLOactive.
