7 anti-plastic heroes

Anti-plastic heroes who are working hard against the plastic soup.

At Retulp, we believe in a world without disposable plastic, which is why we started offering stainless steel alternatives to disposable plastics about 5 years ago. But the problem of the plastic soup is much bigger than plastic bottles and cups. Fortunately, we are not fighting the battle against single-use plastics alone and a lot of people and companies are working on this every day. Below we put 7 Dutch anti-plastic heroes in the spotlight.

Plastic Soup Surfer

Merijn Tinga, a.k.a. The Plastic Soup Surfer, uses his surfboard (made of recycled plastic) as a weapon against disposable plastic in the sea. Last year he made a real statement by surfing from the Seine to the Rhine in 8 days on his own surfboard to open the 'World Clean-up Day'. He is currently working on a manifesto in which he argues about the proper handling of plastic without pollution. This is about recycling on the one hand, but also about preventing it on the other. Read and support the manifesto here!

plasticavengers.org/

Sea First Foundation

'Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world' spoke Nelson Mandela. Education as a weapon is also the starting point of the Sea First Foundation. They want to show people the beauty and biodiversity of aquatic life on the one hand, and on the other hand, tell them about the problems of pollution and damage to the oceans. The main target group of the Sea First Foundation are children and young people because, after all, they are the future. Plastic pollution is one of the six main topics and in addition they are also concerned with animal welfare and fishing, among other things. Here you can read more about the good work of the Sea First Foundation.

https://www.seafirst.org/

The Zero Waste Project

Jessie and Nicky Kroon of 'The Zero Waste Project' started their zero waste lifestyle in 2014. This means that they try to produce as little (plastic) waste as possible. They look for alternatives to products that contain plastic or are packaged in plastic and for this reason also leave out certain products. In 2018 their book came out in which they describe their zero-waste journey and give useful tips and recipes. On the website you can find fun blogs, hotspots and other tips. https://www.hetzerowasteproject.nl/

Go Clean - De Liemers

Just to show that regional impact can be just as meaningful as national. The Go Clean de Liemers Foundation has set itself the goal of making Duiven litter-free within 10 years. By litter we mean all the waste in our living environment NOT thrown away in a garbage can, trash container, garbage bag, etc. Through collaboration, they have managed to create a big impact locally for years. Their latest achievement was the collaboration with the Litterati app. Therefore, they register and tag all waste in the Litterati app. To the perpetrators of the litter they can then show: look, here it was not neat. Because of us it is "cleaned up, tagged and neat"! With that information, they give the problem back to the source controllers.

Take a quick look at their inspiring website and join them.

https://gocleandeliemers.nl/

ZustainaBox

ZustainaBox has been making the world a little more sustainable since 2019. The founder, Manon van Leeuwen, turned her life around and went completely green. Her boxes are also full of green goodies that are plant-based, pure and plastic-free. All the items in the ZustainaBox also have a very good story. If you want to start your sustainable life, the starter kit is an ideal box to start with. A box with everyday products, but good for the environment and therefore good for you too! Take a look at their website.

https://zustainabox.nl/

Bamboo Brush Society

Did you know that in this world we use 5 trillion plastic toothbrushes per year? And that 2 trillion of those end up in landfills and in the sea? This shocked Roger Nefkens so much that he founded The Bamboo Brush Society. They sell, as the name suggests, toothbrushes made from bamboo. Meanwhile the shop has expanded to include bamboo cotton swabs, bamboo cutlery and a stainless steel tongue scraper. It is fantastic that Roger offers a specific alternative to reduce plastic in the ocean. The products of TBBS can be found here.

https://thebamboobrushsociety.com/

Lush

So here goes, a bonus anti-plastic hero. Lush is not originally a Dutch company, but it does have locations in Amsterdam, Haarlem, Utrecht, The Hague, Rotterdam and Den Bosch. Lush sells fresh, handmade personal care products. A big plus is that they sell a lot of products 'naked'. Before you get any strange ideas, that means these products are sold without packaging (; The liquid soaps and lotions are in jars and bottles made from 100% recycled plastic, much of which comes from Lush's stores. They actually encourage customers to return the packaging to the store. A great closed loop! Stop by one of the stores or check out the website.

https://nl.lush.com/

At Retulp we are trying to reduce the plastic soup by offering cups and coffee mugs as an alternative. A beautiful product that also makes the earth happy.