Why the Sea starts with you

Why t he sea starts wit h you

How Belgium’s Department of Marine Environment is encouraging people to protect the North Sea.

We all have a connection with the sea: it regulates our climate by absorbing CO 2 , provides oxygen, fish, seafood, sand, salt, wind energy and much more. Unfortunately, an average of 8 million tonnes of plastic waste end up in the sea every year – in other words: one full truck of waste every minute. An even bigger problem: it takes up to 450 years for plastics to break down completely, and the small plastic bits never truly disappear. As the North Sea and its inhabitants deserve our protection, the Belgian Department of Marine Environment launched an awareness campaign. Its key message – »You can help from anywhere: at home, in your kitchen and bathroom, in every drain…« – is summed up by the claim »The sea starts with you.« To give it a positive spin, the campaign delivered practical tips and advice for everyday life. This includes avoiding disposable plastics, using a reusable shopping bag and drinking bottle, buying unpackaged food and care products, not letting go of balloons, trying shampoo bars or not pouring leftover paint down the sink.

theseastartswithyou.be

Contact: mieke.vandevelde@health.fgov.be

The map shows the sound pressure level in the Baltic Sea. The median value was in a one-third octave band of 125 Hz in 2014. The map includes both natural and man-made noise. The largest shipping lanes are clearly shown.