Every year, 300 million tons of plastic are manufactured in the world—with only a small proportion of this ever making its way to recycling or re-use.
The rest ends up being burnt, landfilled, or floating around in the sea. In fact, it is believed there may be more plastic in the world’s oceans than fish by 2050.
In Iceland, we use up about 40 kg (88 lbs.) of plastic packaging per person, per year.
The environmental NGO the Icelandic Environment Association (Landvernd) is responding with a campaign highlighting the dangers of ocean plastic, Vísir reports.
The Hreinsum Ísland (Clean Up Iceland) campaign runs from April 25 to May 7. The campaign will encourage people to think about plastic; to consciously use less of it, and maybe to pick some up and recycle it as well.
People are encouraged to organize coastal clean-ups with friends, colleagues, or relatives. Advice and publicity for coastal clean-ups can be found (in Icelandic) on hreinsumisland.is.
