Plastivist of the month is Michelle Cassar……
I started Being PALL – Plastic A Lot Less in November 2008. I had a life changing day, literally!
I´d always “recycled” but on this particular day I did my first beach clean on a deserted beach on the West Coast of Portugal where I was living. The beach was covered in plastic, we removed as much as we could carry back up the steep cliff. We took it to the recycling bins, most I didn´t even know was plastic! That evening I came across an article in The Surfer´s Path that simple said, “Every piece of plastic that has ever been made still exists and much of it is in our oceans.” There was a you tube link to; A Tale of Entanglement. Which is a pretty graphic film of animals entangled in plastic. I was upset and looked around the camper… at all our plastics. The next day I started refusing and researching.
Some people may doubt this statement. As some plastics have been burnt and there is still plenty on land, but no one can deny, our Oceans are choking in plastic.
I´m a photographer and I surf (when the conditions are small enough). I was shooting surfschools. This meant I was spending a lot of time at the beaches, surfing or shooting.
With the Atlantic swell, it´s hard not to notice the ever-changing plastic washing up on the beach. Especially when I was shooting, often even in small Summer swells, plastic washed up around my feet. I was constantly reminded of the presence of plastic pollution, so I couldn´t help but do something positive about it. Firstly be reducing my own plastic drastically and then helping other people reduce theirs.
Although I´m still coming up upon obstacles all the time, I try my best to over come the challenges as refusing plastics is a way of life for me now. I don´t claim to be perfect, there´s always more anyone can do, but PALL-ing´s a good place to start.
I am Photographer, Blogger, Educator on plastic pollution, Consultant to businesses, with regards to reducing their single use plastics.
I refuse single use, and many many other longer use plastics. After 3 years I´d calculated I alone had refused in the region of 10,000 SUP items, and that number has continued to grow over the years that have followed.
Over the six years I have also helped many other reduce theirs. Some things are simple but add up to incredible amounts. For example, a Surf School I worked with back in 2008 swopped single use bottled water for a water cooler and filter. Over the years they have gone on to refuse 12,000 SUP bottles and the plastic wrapping. They have also saved themselves over €1,500 and countless hours moving water bottles around.
https://www.facebook.com/beingpall
A bit more…
This post was written by the contributor. It is a PfU.K. Directory submission.
And the Pf U.K. Directory is…?
…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.
The DIRECTORY is to promote their fantastic work. Read more here…
Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.