Landing of Eat Less Plastic TVNZ
Thanks to all of our crew for a great landing event.
Here are some stats on the voyage....
STATS
Miles sailed over 6 Months & 8613 Miles
Plastic trawl numbers and results ( how many had plastic)
16 Trawls excluding Tonga-Fiji Fiji NZ ??
Clean Ups 5 Clean Ups with largest being in Fiji with 150 plus Volunteers
collected around 165 bags of plastic waist etc which equates to around 1500 lbs 680 KG
Non Profits Visited 16
Schools Visited 10
Groups Visited 13
Interviews Around 20 adults and 15 Kids
Magazine Articles & News Headlines 15 Headlines, articles, blogs across the world including Virgin, The Ecologist, Parley, Fiji Sun, The Cook Island News, Starboard, Stuff, Good Magazine and The NZ Herald
Islands visited (since some countries had multiple islands, ie Tahiti) 7 countries 17 islands and 2 atolls
Countries Visited- 7 Starting from US
US, Marquesas, Tahiti, Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga Fiji, and NZ
Companies & Non Profits upwards of 40 companies most likely a lot more have helped along the voyage lending their support
Total number of crew members 24 Crew Members from 7 different countries
Minutes of footage (to rep the documentary)...estimated at 750hrs of footage 31 days of Footage
Money Raised We have raised nearly $100,000 dollars for the voyage over 6 Months and now begin our next fundraising efforts to finish the documentary in post production including animation, VR 360, promotional events and paying for the many costs we could not cover over the last 6 months.
https://theecologist.org/2018/nov/07/sailing-change
http://www.parley.tv/updates/2018/8/24/eat-less-plastic
https://www.virgin.com/virgin-unite/eat-less-plastic
Microplastics are entering our food chain and have infiltrated our tap water. It’s in everything from beer to our very own bowels, and there’s a growing fear that the next generation will live on a plastic planet.
Eight million tons, it’s tough to properly understand just how big that number really is. To put it in perspective, if you were to combine the weight of the Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower, and Golden Gate Bridge—and then for good measure add the largest Egyptian pyramid—you’d still need to add a million tons until you reached eight million.
Now if I told you that monumental figure was the weight of something in the ocean, you might be surprised that the number isn’t for fish, but for something that’s much worse: Plastic.
That’s eight million tons of un-recycled plastic that’s entering the ocean each year, and researchers estimate it’s only adding to the 240 million tons of plastic that’s already there. Much of that is from single-use sources like bags, cutlery, and drink bottles – but every industry, from cosmetics to toy-makers, is playing a part in this crisis.
That’s why, in addition to collecting micro-plastic data through the 5 Gyres TrawlShare Program, and participating in cleanups from French Polynesia to beaches in Tonga and Fiji, the crew has been spending their time on land with as many school groups as possible. In the Cook Islands, about halfway through this journey, a school principal was so moved by this effort that he vowed to eliminate single-use plastics from all of the school’s operations.
There have been meetings with Ocean Ambassadors, a group that works on implementing solutions in Island nations such as plastic to oil, closed loop apparel recycling and local small processing applications. They have as well developed “Pirate Pack” a subscription box to minimise your personal plastic footprint from home, and support their field operation. This will re-launch to offer reduced international shipping in November 2018. Add in partnerships with NGOs and businesses from Niue to Auckland and Maui and Eat Less Plastic is building
What does ELP want to achieve?
ELP wants to inspire the world with positivity. Because we are Pacific Islanders we have a close relationship with the ocean not everyone has in the world. We want them to feel our journey around the world and experience it as we did. To be moved by why we all need to care for our oceans starting with our everyday choices of what we consume. To understand the impact Plastic Pollution will have in our food chain and how we can avoid.
After this voyage we will begin the long journey of post production and promotion. There is no telling where this trip will take us and how far into the future it will affect our lives.
Join us in this mission and please support Love the Sea, Eat Less Plastic, and Ocean Aid.
