The Plastic Cup
THE NEXT PIRATE ATTACK AGAINST WASTE
Back in May I had just climbed the highest mountain in North Africa Jebel Toubkal and on the way down I was chatting to the rest of the team and we were discussing what we'd like to do next for a challenge. I said because we'd climbed to Everest Basecamp and now Jebel how about something on the river. 2 days after arriving back home I received a message from someone I'd never heard from before called Miklos and asked if I'd like to take part in the plastic cup. It didn't take me long before I said yes. So on Friday 3rd of August myself and Gina fly out to Budapest to take part. It's a big adventure of collecting plastic, building boats and racing them all to highlight the issue of plastic pollution in this part of the world. I will be broadcasting some Facebook Live videos whilst there if signal allows. So check out the Facebook page to keep updated. Here's some info from their website. Mentioning summer and waterside makes many think of holiday and relax at lake Balaton or on a beach. But for an ever-growing part of the society, those words recall a good pirate adventure and volunteering for nature conservation: the PLASTIC Cup. This year's – altogether for the sixth occasion – 10-day waste picking derby at river Tisza will take place between 4-12 August 2018 on 70 km from Szatmárcseke to Tiszamogyorós, combined with a Transcarpathian pre-race in the days before the Cup.
The civil initiative of the PLASTIC Cup has now become to an internationally important environmental and nature conservation project. With the power of sport, volunteering and environmental awareness, it draws attention to the protection of rivers and the importance of proper waste management. The root of the problem is the flood of PET bottles, or plastic tsunami coming from across the borders – often thousands of tonnes. Many believe that infamous garbage patches are far from us, in the oceans, however, a huge amount of waste is floating through our small country and a part of that stays here. Thus, global waste pollution is also seen in Hungary, and this is why the European Union's Plastic Strategy announced this year is a major step forward, proposing measures for prevention and encouraging the extension of recycling and increasing the rate of recovery. As a result, hundreds of initiatives have been launched to eliminate plastic and other wastes, to prevent their production. One of them is "Plastic Free July", which sends plastics to leave and prompt people to be conscious.
Together WE CAN ALL MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Simon Jordan
Founder
