The Next "Wave" Against Marine Litter - Surfers Against Sewage

Across the pond a group of surfers have been making waves on the fight against marine litter. Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is an environmental charity which has pledged to protect UK's oceans, waves, and beaches.  Since 1990, this group has campaigned for clean, safe recreational waves free from sewage effluents, toxic chemicals, nuclear waste and marine litter. They also have an array of resources including ways to report pollution and medical response forms from beach and ocean related illness.

One of their primary goals is to reduce marine litter on UK beaches by 50% by the year 2020. They are doing this through a series of marine litter campaigns that break the mold of your typical environmental campaign.

return to offender

The return to offender campaign seeks out identifiable marine litter and sends them back to manufacturers and distributers.  Challenging all businesses to have an Extended Producer/Distributor Responsibility for all products made and sold in the UK.  It also brings the fight against marine litter to the source, aiming to establish greater stewardship and funding for their active campaigns, educational resources, and better infrastructure for recycling.

UFOs

The UFOs campaign aims to locate the source of Unidentified Found Objects (UFOs) that are recurrently found on UK beaches.  Through the use of research and social networks they hope to identify, trace, and eliminate persistent items of marine litter.  Even going as far as to call for prosecution of those responsible should they fail develop and implement an affective solution to this recurring issue.

break the bag habit

The break the bag habit has been a huge campaign for Surfers Against Sewage.  After a seeming success of the new mandate that will include a 5p charge on single use plastic bags in the UK, taking effect in October of 2015, Surfers Against Sewage want this to be an across the board law, not just for large retailers.  They are also asking that everyone take the pledge against the use of single use plastic bags in English supermarkets.

These are only a few of the marine litter campaigns that Surfers Against Sewage are using in the fight to raise awareness, environmental stewardship, funding for educational programs, and clean up efforts.  More information can be found at their website. SAS.ORG.UK