And this is why we have been a business partner of the Plastic Soup Foundation since 2016. Their mission? A halt to the increasing pollution of the oceans and seas with plastics and actively preventing plastics from entering the environment.
Globally, the oceans are polluted with plastic, this situation is called the plastic soup. Since 2011, the Dutch Plastic Soup Foundation has been trying to do something about this. The international press now refers to the Plastic Soup Foundation as a leader in the fight against plastic pollution. Their goal is prevention; they do not remove the plastic waste from the sea, but want to prevent that even more end up in the water.
” If we continue like this, our oceans will contain more plastic than fish in 2050 ”
How do they work?
The Plastic Soup Foundation takes action in three ways. First, they stimulate public awareness through campaigns, news reports and messages on social media. They also transfer knowledge through teaching packages for schools and collaborations with experts, politicians, universities and other stakeholders. Finding solutions that combat plastic soup is also part of the Plastic Soup Foundation’s work. How do we reduce the single-use consumer plastics, for example? Or could we develop smart installations that capture plastic from rivers?
‘The Plastic Footprint scan that they have developed themselves will be tested in 2018 at our Corendon City Hotel Amsterdam. We are looking at how we can reduce our plastic consumption. ” Isabel Boekel, CSR manager
What is plastic soup?
More and more plastic is floating in our oceans and seas. The origins of this waste are diverse, from packages and plastic bags that roam the streets to plastics left at sea, such as fishing nets and jerry cans. This waste floats at sea and falls into small pieces due to sunlight and waves. And then there are even fewer recognizable sources of serious pollution; the microplastics. For example, they are in toothpaste or detergents for clothing.
The pollution of the seawater has been discovered by Charles Moore. He sailed in 1997 through an unusual route from Hawaii to Southern California and saw in the North Pacific Gyre, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, pieces of plastic drifting along. Later he returned to the spot and found that the concentration of plastic is significantly higher here than elsewhere in the ocean. Moore is the first to call it the ‘plastic soup’, that is fatal for many creatures in the sea.
“Together with the Plastic Soup Foundation, we want to ensure that our guests can enjoy our beautiful holiday destinations for years to come!” Steven van der Heijden, Corendon CEO
The future
The Corendon Foundation makes a donation every year to the Plastic Soup Foundation, and we use their expertise to reduce our plastic consumption. Because we support them, we have been their Business Angel level Gold since 2018. Business Angels are companies that support the Plastic Soup Foundation’s mission and help them achieve their goals.