Take 3 pieces of rubbish with you when you leave the beach, waterway or…anywhere, and you have made a difference
Cruise Guru are proud to be an Official Supporter of Take 3, a global movement with the goal of conserving the environment and protecting wildlife from the impacts of plastic pollution and waste. As a cruise company, our lives revolve around the oceans, and as a result we are desperately passionate about the longevity of that which provides both our staff and our customers so much joy. But the ocean is so much more than cruise; its health impacts everything. Whether you’re in mountains, forests, deserts or cities, we need the ocean! But now the ocean needs us…
The Facts
‘What Lies Under’ by Ferdi Rizkiyanti
Plastic pollution is killing our wildlife, devastating our oceans and threatening the health of our planet. It is indisputable. Over 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been created since mass production began in the 1950’s, and of that, only 9% has been recycled. The other 91%? It either sits in landfill, floats in our oceans or has been burned. Approximately 8 million tonnes of plastic waste makes its way into our oceans each year and, mistaken as a food source, is ingested by marine life, resulting in injury, suffocation, starvation and often death. These plastics do not break down. Instead they ‘break up’ into smaller and smaller pieces, creating micro- and nano-plastics, which then contaminate our air, land and sea, and can enter the human body through the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. Not only this, but both the creation and degradation of plastics release harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to our planet’s changing climate.
The solution: We need to reassess our relationship with plastic.
We currently work under a linear model: we take, we make, we dispose…end of relationship. This needs to change if we are to protect our oceans and wildlife. Instead, plastics need to fit in with a circular model, one where there is no such thing as waste and is renewable and regenerative by design. This model embraces renewable energy and represents an exciting blueprint for the future where waste and pollution become a thing of the past.
Unfortunately, we’re not quite there yet. But there are steps that you can take to minimise your footprint, maximise the amount of waste that is removed from where it doesn’t belong and drive the planet towards a more sustainable future.
What Can You Do To Help?
Every individual can make a difference! To date, 350,000 people and 129 countries have contributed to removing 10 million pieces of plastic from the environment! Here are four things you can do to help the cause:
1. Take 3 for the Sea
Heading on an outing? Maybe it’s for a paddle at the beach, a kayak on the river, or even just a play in your local park. No matter where you’re going, make it your goal to pick up at least three pieces of rubbish from wherever you are and dispose of it thoughtfully. As Take 3 say, “Pick It Up. Bin It”.
2. Try to lead a sustainable lifestyle
Even the smallest of changes can have a big impact. Use a reusable drink bottle in lieu of single use plastic bottles; Take reusable shopping bags on your outings; Get your daily coffee fix made in a reusable mug like one of Take 3’s JOCO Cups or a KeepCup – cafe’s often even give you a slight discount for bringing your own cup, so not only are you helping to save the planet…you’re also helping your hip pocket. And if you can’t find a reusable alternative, recycle everything you can. The goal is to reduce what goes in the bin and ultimately into landfill.
3. Don’t litter
It’s so simple. Don’t contribute to the problem. The ocean is downhill from everywhere, so anything inappropriately discarded will eventually make its way there. For example, cigarette butts are the number one item found at clean-ups worldwide with approximately 2.4 million collected to date. Once disposed of, cigarette butts can take up to 15 years to disintegrate.
4. Share the love
Make sure you tell all your friends and family about the easy things they can do contribute to our end goal: to stop plastic pollution from killing our wildlife and suffocating our planet. And hey, even cleaning is fun when it’s done in great company!
For more information on this initiative and how you can help, please visit take3.org.
