story by: Gert-Jan van Dommelen, co-founder of EndPlasticSoup

More than 48 countries, including Great Britain and Ireland, have joined the Rotary EndPlasticSoup initiative, which was started six years ago in Amsterdam.

This bottom-up club initiative is run by and for Rotarians with a goal of stopping plastic pollution by 2050.

Today, over 100 Ambassador Clubs represent Rotary EndPlasticSoup in their districts, and Supporter Clubs are being asked to join by paying a small donation (€200 year or €500 for 3 years) to support this worldwide initiative with its numerous international projects.

In return, clubs receive free online materials including pictures, videos and information. They also get support for their projects, exchange experiences, and enjoy access to a worldwide network of alliances and solutions.

Plastic is fantastic

Plastic is a fantastic product offering many different products and applications. It is lightweight, long-living and cheap. Plastic also causes huge problems since many countries cannot process the waste.

Plastic never disappears, it just becomes smaller. Microplastics (0.1-5 mm) and nanoplastics (smaller than 0.1 mm) cause real issues for our climate, for all life on our planet as well as our health.

In the past couple of years, more data has been gained from research regarding the impact of nanoplastics and the poisonous additives on them. Polyfluorinated Substances, or PFAS is just one of the examples.

Plastic is in the water, in our soil and in the air

Nano plastics are one of the major causes for the reduced CO2 absorption of our planet: only 25% comes from all trees and green vegetation, while 50-60% absorption is being done by plankton in the oceans and 20% by the soil itself, as well as the fungi in it.

The capacity of these natural CO2sponges has been reduced by 40%, mainly due to micro plastics. Energy transition is important for the short term (5-10 years), but a halt to the growth of nano plastics is essential to allow our planet to restore its balance with CO2 absorption.

Research has also proven the loss of fertility of all life on our planet due tonanoplastics. This not only causes a threat for biodiversity,butalso kills thenature, wildlife and plants which we love so much.

Plastic is in our water, it is in the air we breathe, andthe food we eat. According to research from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, there is not a single chicken egg shell which does not contain microplastics.

Micro plastics are a threat for fungi, destroying the capabilities of these 700 million year-old life sources, and their ability for plants to produce vitamins and minerals in our vegetables and fruits.

Latest research shows that the fertility of boys and girls of 18 years of age has decreased by 30% in the past 20 years. Also,the hormone system has been changed causing earlier puberty. Full proof has not yet been given, but the initial results are clear: nano plastics have an impact on cancer.

We can do better

Rotary is a worldwide network organisation of volunteers with their vocations, skills and experiences, their personal networks and their ethics. The capacity for co-operation and getting things done is huge. From the contribution to the birth of the United Nations, the end of Polio and now why not the end of the plastic pollution problem?

Together with local authorities and worldwide alliances, Rotary can be a driving force. There are proven solutions for education, mass cleaning, waste management and recycling.

The focus has to be an end-to-end approach including the reduction of single-use plastics, along with a reduction of microplastics in clothes, car tyres, consumer products, detergents and cosmetics.

Rotary EndPlasticSoup offers an opportunity for all clubs and their members to get into action with impact. There have been international Global Grant projects in Egypt, India, Indonesia, with multiple district projects in preparation.

A cookbook, action packages and education materials are available as a roadmap for clubs to take action in their communities. Individually, and as a society, we can do better to prevent plastic pollution in our environment.

Plastic pollution is not only a problem, it is also a tool to co-operate. All people on this planet, all generations, all countries and cultures want the same: stop the plastic pollution.

This offers an opportunity to communicate, prevent polarisation and conflict, and solve other issues. It offers perspective to the younger generation and for community building.