Why do we work with Whale and Dolphin Conservation?
BRITA is committed to reducing single-use plastic waste and minimising the use of disposable plastic bottles, which cause significant damage to the ocean. Plastic pollution is a severe threat to marine life, as sea creatures find themselves snared in pieces of plastic, fish mistake it for food, and corals are destroyed by floating waste.
We are aware that about 95% of the plastic in the seas comes from litter originally dropped in our towns and cities. Britons continue to use over 7 billion single-use plastic water bottles every year and given that plastic bottles can take between 450 and 1,000 years to break down, they can continue to pollute the environment for more than twice the lifespan of a Bowhead Whale, one of the planet’s longest living creatures.
BRITA and Whale and Dolphin Conservation are committed to raising awareness of the disastrous consequences of the 13 million tonnes of plastic that leak into our seas every year. Together we have undertaken projects to encourage and empower people to help support the marine environment and adopt a more sustainable attitude to single-use plastic.
This pollution of the oceans represents a life-threatening danger for many species, including whales and dolphins. BRITA is proud to be working alongside WDC to draw attention to the steps we can all take to help to protect the ocean.
How BRITA collaborates with Whale and Dolphin Conservation
BRITA has worked with WDC since 2016, first launching the partnership with the adoption of Rainbow, a bottlenose dolphin often seen swimming off the coast of Spey Bay, near the WDC Scottish Dolphin Centre. Rainbow, who was first spotted in 1989, is now a mum of five and a brilliant hunter and teacher.
Since then, we have worked with WDC to raise awareness in Westminster of the need to protect the ocean from plastic pollution. This has included helping to launch the #NotWhaleFood campaign in 2017, designed to educate and inform people about the single-use plastic waste problem and what they can do to help.
The campaign celebrated everyday #plasticsheroes by sharing personal stories of individuals across the country doing their part to reduce plastic waste. The aim was to offer practical inspiration for people to cut down on their own single-use plastic, highlighting that everyone can make a difference.
As this partnership continues, BRITA and WDC are working together to raise awareness of these important issues among business leaders, politicians and high-profile individuals to create further momentum behind reducing single-use plastic waste.
