Plastic Fishing Tour Application Form Introduction We all know that plastic is a threat to our oceans when it isn’t disposed of properly, but the issue can often start much closer to home, with 80% of plastic in the waterways coming from land. Rubbish like this can be found in rivers and canals across the UK. 300 tonnes of rubbish are cleared just from the Thames each year, and a large proportion of it is plastic food and drink packaging. This litter is being eaten by birds, fish and other species – a 2018 study found that 32% of fish in the river Thames and river Clyde were found to have microplastics in their gut, harming wildlife and entering the food chain. Indeed, plastics have been found in fish we eat such as mussels and mackerel. In collaboration with the Daily Mirror and funded by the 5p cup charge from Starbucks, Hubbub is launching a new competition to help raise awareness about this issue. We’re looking for groups around the UK to win a visit from our Plastic Fishing boat to help collect litter from a local river or canal. One of these groups will then be selected to keep the Plastic Fishing boat to continue the fight against litter and raise local awareness.
What is plastic fishing? Hubbub and Canary Wharf College joined forces to launch Plastic Fishing in London’s Docklands. We built the world’s first recycled plastic boat, Poly-Mer - a 12-seater punt, based on a design that’s over a thousand years old, but using the most modern of materials - recycled plastic. The boat was built by Mark Edwards MBE, a Richmond-based boat builder who previously built the Queen’s barge, ‘Gloriana’. We use the boat to take people on Plastic Fishing trips, to fish plastic and other litter out of the water. The litter gets sorted on the shore and we use the recyclable plastic to build more boats, demonstrating the value of plastic when it is collected and recycled rather than littered. So far 950 people from local schools, businesses and community groups have been Plastic Fishing. Together 1280 PET bottles have been collected, that’s over 142 Kgs of plastic.
#PlasticFishing Registered Charity No. 1158700