Sustainable guidelines and a recycling dream
Sustainability is the summation of a lot of small actions done by a lot of different actors.
Whilst all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) are important and in many ways interconnected, one of them in particular relates very directly to our passion: Goal number 14, the ‘Life Below Water’, which is about conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas, and marine resources. It’s great to see the sailing communities working on guidelines to help sailors, events and venues reduce their impact on the environment and work towards ensuring our sailing areas remain environmentally sustainable. We are hoping to spread the message of how much we can all benefit from keeping our sport clean and sustainable for the future, by making a few simple changes to our habits and routines while on and off the water.
There are so many ways you can help to ‘Turn the Tide on Plastic’: A. Here are a few ideas to get you started the next time you hit the water • • • • • • •
say no to straws avoid products with microbeads (e.g. toothpaste, beauty products,..) choose products with no or less packaging remembering reusable or bio-degradable bags use a refillable water bottle and having a water refill tap available avoiding pre-packed lunches in plastic bags for sailors on the water a “leave no waste” policy which includes penalties for competitors that are caught leaving waste (biodegradable or not) behind them.
B. Basic guidelines – examples for event organisers
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assign an eco-officer/green team and give this role to a prominent and influential member and create a team waste… provide clearly labelled set of waste recycling bins and place some on the pontoons as well water… label drinking water taps for refillable bottles reduce or remove … decide on your policy for single use plastic drinks and announce it NOR … mention your environmental policies in the NOR
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‘Sailors for the sea’…
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register your event and follow their guidelines Reduce… consider the amount of waste that ends up in the ecosystem during the event when giving out goody-bags Share … your environmental message and guideline
