Dorset Olympic sailor warns of devastating impact of plastic pollution
Gold Medallist Hannah Mills has become Prevented Ocean Plastic's first ambassador
Hannah Mills, Dorset's Olympic sailing gold medallist says we've got to start protecting the water she sails on.
She sees first-hand the impact of plastic on our waterways and those across the world as she trains daily and competes.
Hannah says that during her preparation for the 2016 Rio Games was when she really noticed the scale of the problem – every beach, every marina and every coastal area she visited was damaged beyond belief.
She told Greatest Hits Radio Dorset:
"Sailing has taken me all over the world and for almost two decades I have noticed plastic in the oceans, mainly when it gets stuck under our boat and stops us dead in our tracks. But it didn’t resonate with me how bad the problem was getting until the Rio 2016 Olympic cycle."
"I witnessed first hand the devastating effects of plastic pollution on our oceans and planet. Every beach, marina and coastal area we visited during that four year period was affected and damaged beyond belief.
"Most days there's something that saps my faith in our ability to change the amount of plastic we see on the supermarket shelves or in shops when we're shopping, packaging when we buy things. It feels like a really steep hill we've got to climb.
"But there are new innovations, new governance, new mandates coming in all the time that are helping accelerate the change away from particularly single use plastic.
"The race has just begun and it's one we kind of have to win."
She says it's important to remain positive, especially in light of the work of Prevented Ocean Plastic, a group for whom she is Ambassador.
Prevented Ocean Plastic is something you can look out for in the supermarket. It's high quality, certified and award-winning recycled plastic that has been collected from coastal areas at risk of ocean plastic pollution.
Their pioneering programme has saved 20,000 tonnes of plastic going into the waterways and then on to the oceans around the world. Because that plastic has been saved and recycled, it has saved an additional 50,000 tonnes of CO2 (by not using new plastic).
• 89% of UK households regularly recycle, but roughly two-thirds of the plastic waste that is recycled in the UK is sent overseas to be dealt with. In developing countries, that lack proper recycling infrastructure, this plastic waste often ends up in the ocean.
Hannah Mills said:
"I've partnered up with Prevented Ocean Plastic who are doing great things around removing single use plastic from getting into the ocean particularly in developing countries where plastic waste is a real challenge.
"People are incentivised to go and pick up the plastic. They get paid to take it to recycling centres or deposit schemes and then it comes back, gets repurposed as recycled plastic and we can find that in our supermarkets on the shelves."
She says looking out for the small blue prevented ocean plastic triangle on products is an easy way to get involved.
You can find out more on the Prevented Ocean Plastic website.