European artists create huge beach artworks to help plastic pollution fight

Credit: J.Ben / EEB - Copyright Credit: J.Ben / EEB

Published on 19/04/2018 - 17:24

Artists have produced beach artworks to raise awareness about plastic pollution in the world's oceans.

Beach artists across Europe have put their creative talents on show to draw attention to marine-based plastic pollution.

They have made huge artworks on sand to highlight the issue.

Artworks have been created near Bordeaux in France; close to the German-Danish border; in Porto, Portugal; in Devon, England; and near Cadiz, Spain.

It is part of raising awareness of sea-based plastic pollution ahead of Earth Day on Sunday, April 22.

Tim Hoekstra, who produced one of the artworks, said: "Every time I come to the beach, I see washed up plastic, mostly food and drink packaging. It has got much worse in recent years. It makes me sick to think that our kids might never know what a clean beach or water is really like.”

Campaigners say up to 12 million metric tonnes of plastic enters our oceans every year and that it is expanding at a catastrophic rate.

Piotr Barczak, waste policy officer at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), who commissioned the artwork, said: "Plastic is no longer fantastic, in fact it is out of control. Countless billions of tiny toxic particles are polluting the land, water and even the air.

"It’s a sorry situation, but at least we are waking up to the problem and political leaders are starting to take action. Industry still hasn’t woken up to public concern about the mess its products are creating. They need to dramatically rethink how they get their goods to us without endless plastic.”