Meeting Government to talk plastic pollution

Last week I went to Westminster for a meeting with DEFRA policy teams working across litter, recycling, marine debris and the Extended Producer Responsibility reform.

I’ve been waiting years for the opportunity to share Plastic Patrol’s mission at Government level - ever since I
started collecting data about plastic pollution four years ago when I paddle boarded the length of England. I photographed every single piece I encountered - and 22 days, 400 miles and 3000 photos later I had my first proper sample for an evidence base.

Back then I couldn’t find an impartial, centralised and scientifically robust tool to share my data, so I built my own. The Plastic Patrol app collects crowdsourced photos from people all over the world who find and record litter in nature - where it doesn’t belong! Right now there’s more than 260,000 examples recorded across 76 countries globally - enough to clearly identify accountable types, brands and other significant patterns - and make Government listen!

Having the chance to get in front of the right people at the top was a “pinch me” moment. It’s everything I’ve been working towards since I started campaigning against plastic pollution, and is literally ALL down to the incredible effort from everyone who has been involved.

If you’ve been on a clean up or downloaded the Plastic Patrol app and recorded litter, I want to say a huge and heartfelt THANK YOU.

Every single piece added has contributed towards reaching this point. And if you’ve ever questioned or doubted the difference collecting and logging one piece of plastic makes then I hope this is a reminder of the power we have collectively (and how tech can actually be used for good!).

I’ll be meeting DEFRA again in January - once policies are in place - to share the full, three year plastic pollution study that we’re working on now. Our findings will help build a case to fight for fundamental changes to legislation around plastic pollution that need addressing - so watch this space!