Our natural world should not have to absorb our plastic waste, and especially not our single-use plastics.

Clean rivers are an integral part of this process, as all rivers ultimately feed into our oceans.

We encourage governments, businesses and individuals to take responsibility for their personal plastic use, and work harder together to come up with a plastic pollution solution, from source to sea.

The Global Treaty for Plastic Pollution is a start.

In March 2022, the UN Environmental Assembly convened to discuss the global plastic crisis, and formulate a set of legally binding agreements around how we produce and consume high-risk plastic. A total of 175 nations voted to adopt the treaty. Implementation is planned for 2025.

But we can’t wait for treaties. Every single one of us can make a difference by what we choose to use – and what we throw away. 

Beach and river cleanups are direct actions that everyone can take wherever they are. It’s the simplest way to make a difference.

In 2016, LPF participated in the world’s biggest beach clean up at Versova Beach, Mumbai. That same year, we negotiated a halt to Gibraltar’s annual mass balloon release. In 2017 we cleared plastic trash from deep within the Arctic circle, thousands of miles from any human habitation, and in 2018 we spent time ashore during the Long Swim to join supporters in cleaning their local beaches.