TV personalities Jamie Jewitt and Roxanne Pallet help clean up Blackpool beach
TV stars join the Sky Ocean Rescue Plastic Whale tour, inspiring the public to change the way they consume single-use plastics.
• A 10 metre whale, made from the same amount of plastic dumped in the ocean every second, visits Blackpool to help promote the issue of ocean health
• Jamie Jewitt, Love Island runner-up, and Roxanne Pallett, former soap star and actress, took part in an early morning beach clean with Blackpool Council
• The Plastic Whale is touring the UK as part of the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign, encouraging the public to make changes to their plastic consumption
An independent survey has found that 87% of Brits are concerned by the use of plastic in the UK and 60% from the North West of England are willing to see a similar 5p plastic bag ‘charge’ applied to other single-use plastics* such as straws, bottles and cups.
The research highlights a desire from the public to see behaviour change, as over eight million tonnes of plastic pollution continues to enter the ocean globally every year.**
Love Island star Jamie Jewitt and actress Roxanne Pallett joined the 10 metre plastic whale at Blackpool beach today, to highlight the scale of the problem and encourage people to become an #OceanHero. The whale is made of plastic bags, bottles and other single-use plastics pulled from the ocean, beach cleans and local recycling plants and represents the same amount of plastic that pollutes the ocean every second**.
The pair, who are both passionate about saving our oceans, joined an early morning beach clean with Blackpool Council before handing out refillable water bottles and giving tips to members of the public on on how to reduce their own plastic use.
Love Island runner up and model, James Jewitt, said:“It’s hard to get your head around the effect we are having on the ocean until you see the plastic whale and realise how much plastic is being dumped in the ocean every second. It’sterrifying and is the reason I’m here in Blackpool supporting the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign. I love swimming and enjoying the beauty of our oceans and we are all putting that at risk. It’s not hard to make a change, it’s simple; get a refillable bottle or don’t take a straw it really doesn’t take much but if we all do it it will make a difference".
Actress Roxanne Pallett added: “I grew up coming to Blackpool at the weekend and on holiday, so this beach has a very special place in my heart. This morning I took part in a beach clean with the amazing team from Blackpool Council, who are out here every day, and I saw first-hand the rubbish that’s left on the beach. The Plastic Whale is a great reminder of the amount of plastics that get dumped in our oceans every second and the action we all need to take to save our oceans. We all need to act now to prevent further damage".
The Plastic Whale Tour is travelling through England, Wales and Scotland, visiting iconic beach and water front locations as well as city centres. The campaign will drive awareness and give members of the public tips on small and easy changes - from using a refillable plastic bottle, to saying no to straws and plastic bags – to help reduce plastic consumption.
Also joining the Plastic Whale tour in Blackpool, Stephanie Wyatt from LOVEmyBEACH, a campaign group aimed at inspiring communities in the North West to help improve the quality of the regions beaches and seas, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Sky Ocean Rescue’s plastic whale to Blackpool today and to help raise awareness of the dangers of single use plastics on marine life. The LOVEmyBEACH campaign encourages individuals to rethink single use plastics and consider changes such as refillable water bottles, refusing a straw and plastic cutlery.
The local community have already taken big steps to improve their coast which is apparent with the arrival of Blackpool’s first Blue Flag beach in 2016. But the great thing about the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign is that is all about helping people realise that small, simple day to day decisions can have a big impact of the ocean".
Find out more about the Plastic Whale Tour and the issues affecting our oceans at the Sky Ocean Rescue Facebook page, @skyoceanrescue on Twitter, or visit skyoceanrescue.com.
Notes to Editors
Research:
* Research conducted by FlyResearch and commissioned by Sky Ocean Rescue to a pool of over 2,000 respondents across the UK in August 2017.
** Estimated 8 million tonnes plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean globally in a year (Jambeck et al. Science Feb 2015). Whale made from 250kgs of plastic, calculations for plastic into the ocean every second derived from the 8 million tonnes annual figure.
Press Office:
For more information on the tour and regional visits including interview opportunities, video footage of the making of the plastic whale and on tour b-roll and photos, please contact the Sky Ocean Rescue Press Office:
• Jo Torn - jo.torn@onegreenbean.com / 07341 838 770
• Matt Buchanan – matt.buchanan@onegreenbean.com / 07940 296 867
• Alice Briggs - alice.briggs@onegreenbean.com / 07960 033 840
The Plastic Whale
The whale is made of plastic recovered from UK oceans, beach cleans and local recycling plants by recycling experts and material management company Bywaters. The whale is being transported around the UK on a Sussex Transport vehicle and Sky Ocean Rescue is carbon offsetting the journey.
Plastic Whale Tour locations:
15th August – London, Potters Fields
17th August – Newquay, Porth Beach
18th August – Instow, Sandhills
20th August – Cardiff, Cardiff Bay
21st August – Birmingham, Bullring
22nd August – Blackpool Promenade
23rd August – Leeds, Sky Office
24th August – Livingston, Sky Office
25th August – Leith Dock, Edinburgh
26th August – Edinburgh, Ocean Terminal
27th August – Newcastle Intu Metrocentre
28th August – Ipswich
About Sky Ocean Rescue
As Europe’s leading entertainment company, we want to use our voice and potential reach to inspire people to take action to protect our planet, raising awareness of how plastics and other pollution are affecting our oceans. Sky Ocean Rescue is the environmental campaign, part of the Bigger Picture which also inspires the new generation through the power of sport, and invests further in creativity and diversity in our industry to make a difference.
About LOVEmyBEACH
LOVEmyBEACH is a North West campaign working across the community to help improve the quality of the regions beaches and seas. LOVEmyBEACH coordinates hundreds of beach clean events each year with regular groups and one off volunteer events.LOVEmyBEACH has commissioned five Two Minute Beach Clean Boards for the Fylde peninsular over the last month with the most recent board being launched in Blackpool on Thursday 17th August as part of the Keep Blackpool Tidy campaign.
The boards make it easier for everyone to do their bit to look after the beach with litter pickers and bags included within the structure.
Plastic – The Facts
• 13 billion single-use plastic bottles are sold in Britain each year (an average of 200 per person) – less than half of these are recycled (source: Nottingham University, Environmental Technology Centre)
• Most types of plastic are not biodegradable. They can stay in the ocean for centuries. (source: UNEP)
• Microplastics have been found inside a third of fish in the English Channel (source: Plymouth University)
• We use over 35 million plastic bottles every day in the UK (source: WRAP)
• 40% of all plastic in Europe is only used once (source: Plastics Europe)
• 80% of the plastic pollution in the ocean comes from us on land (source: Eunomia Research & Consulting)
Additional quotes from the launch of the Plastic Whale Tour in London on August 15:
Sir Ranulph Fiennes, one of the world’s great explorers who has seen first-hand just how far plastic waste can travel around the globe, said: “I’ve explored some of the most remote and vast points of the world and yet still witnessed the reach of ocean pollution. Between 1979 and 1982 my team completed the first surface circumpolar navigation of Earth and during both the Atlantic and the Pacific voyages we witnessed the amount of pollution, much of which was plastic and that was just on the surface. It is vital that we all take action to protect our oceans and we must act now before the scale of this problem heightens further. Simple changes to everyday life are easy to do and give us the chance to prevent further damage. We all use plastic but we have to think beyond ourselves and save our beautiful and important seas. I’m pledging my support and hope others will follow".
Jodie Kidd, former supermodel and passionate supporter of the oceans, said: “There is nothing I enjoy more than being on or by the water – sailing, rowing, on holiday – and it terrifies me that our beautiful oceans are being destroyed. As a mother I want my son to grow up in a world where oceans are vast and beautiful, not damaged and under threat. It is vital that we all make changes, even in the smallest of ways, to help save our oceans. I really encourage everyone to find out more about the issues affecting our oceans and how you can become an #OceanHero by joining in the conversation on the Sky Ocean Rescue Facebook page or visit skyoceanrescue.com".
