Every minute, about 1 million plastic bottles are bought around the world. In 2016 480 billion were sold and this is expected to increase to 583.3 billion by 2021. Many of these are not recycled and end up into the sea, endangering its biodiversity and us all.
The Borough Council of Causeway Coast and Glens, awarded with a number of Blue Flags in the season 2019, has recently launched the ‘H2O on the Go’ project, that aims at fighting plastic pollution in the sea.
The message that ‘H2O on the Go’ wants to deliver is to drink more tap water and use reusable bottles also outside home, raising beach visitors’ awareness on single-use plastic and its impact on the oceans.
Businesses and other outlets across Causeway Coast and Glens are encouraged to take part into the scheme. These will be promoting and offering free refilling of water bottles to reduce the amount of single use plastic bottles in circulation. The location and names of the participating businesses are accessible through the Council’s website www.causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk, so as to allow visitors to include a water refill point when planning their visits to the beaches of the area.
The Blue Flag programme in Northern Ireland is managed by our member organisation ‘Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful’. You can visit their website here: https://www.keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org/cgi-bin/greeting?instanceID=1