How to: become change.

Ever since I came face to face with the reality of plastic pollution, I have begun to change my life. I hold my hands up admittedly, before I was very naive. Unconscious to the effect of my irresponsible consumer habits. As I researched further into plastic pollution I couldn't understand why urgent global action wasn’t occurring? Why big companies were taking so long to make necessary changes and why most yoghurt pots aren't yet recyclable [bar a few UK collection schemes]?

The first project for plastic ain’t fantastic started with a partnership with Salford based reparation programme ‘Remedy’. Here I taught a session on the dangers of plastic pollution to minors caught up in the criminal justice system. From the individuals in the class, one guy told me that I was mad if I thought that there is plastic in his clothes and why should he care because there is nothing we can do anyway, bla bla, they stormed out and i felt like a piece of shit on a shoe. Other individuals engaged, genuinely concerned for the environment and their own health but also questioning why this was the first time they were hearing about this and again questioning what we can actually do. They felt like it was too late? This left me questioning why working class youth feel so powerless and detached? How can we get them and their families involved? 

My original plan was to create a vertical garden out of plastic bottles on that drab piece of crap prison style wall that sits in the Manchester city centre next to a bunch of metal trees [who the hell thought of metal trees]. I wanted a poem painted on the wall by a local creative to push hard facts to the hundreds who walk past every piccadilly garden every day. After emailing many MP’s secretaries and getting the same response - NO MONEY IN THE BUDGET. I realised my hopes were too high and the issue not important enough to the big boys. A friend of mine passed me onto the platt fields market garden in fallowfield/rusholme,  [if you live close by, pay these amazing group of people a visit - they grow their own veggies and you can buy a giant box of organic goodness for £5]. Mark, lovely guy, let us rip on his garden fence. Remedy and I made a lot of mess, but the mess turned into a plastic bottle herb garden along the fence for his vegan pizza business. Yes you read it right, you will now be able to purchase stone baked vegan pizza whilst at the park (they made the clay oven themselves too… impressive). 

‘’Plastic and nature are not friends, Only you can make amends’’  - Ethan, Remedy programme - displayed alongside the plastic herb garden. 

Next thing, a few of my friends and I were messing around with stunt ideas. Stunts are these funny weird attention grabbing scenarios that are less politically involved but gain more support and spread information to the public. We got a bit excited and seriously thought we were gonna strip naked from plastic garments to symbolise the plastic free naked future we deserve LOL. Yeah... we did not do that: public indecency, crazy things put people off a movement, no one wants to see that… ever, children would be scarred, I don’t want a criminal record and i would like to be employed professionally one day. But what catches the attention of busy Londoners more than utter self embarrassment? Nothing, they loved our non naked stunt. This day is up their as one of the most special days in my life. Cringe, maybe, but the positivity and community engagement altered my perception of the public. Empowerment is an incredible feeling, everyone involved in this made a difference. We are all very proud of ourselves.

This lovely lady was a London based secondary school teacher looking to inspire her students.

So what did we do? A theatrical masterpiece of course… 

We made our garments from plastic rubbish we found in the bin, this was so funny (my neighbour drinks too much cola). We used hemp rope, which we tied plastic to, making a skipping rope. We ran around St James Park and Parliament Square singing our remastered nursery rhymes. Children, parents and tourists skipped for as long as they could. It was fun, interactive politics that anyone of any age could understand, parents were more than happy to stop and let their kids play whilst listening to us. We sparked conversation with over 100 individuals with our leaflets. People are concerned and they are searching for direction about what to do. I hope that for every leaflet taken it sparked conversation with at least one friend over the ticking time bomb that is planet earth.

We also had the opportunity to work with a guy named Robert Unbranded. A retired taxi driver from London who has been standing outside westminster everyday since february to raise awareness and call for a ban on all single use plastic. Robert is brave, intuitive and devoted. We shared our stories and he told us that seeing us reinforces his believe in the movement, that we just have to keep trying. I’m proud of rob for acting on behalf of the generations that will be born into a world humans are selfishly destroying. 

Our guy, Robert Unbranded. We stand with you always!

Here are our remastered Nursery Rhymes: Please do not copywrite these bad boys [jenny: Lyrical genius].

‘’Ring around the roses, plastic up our noses, a tissue, a tissue, plastic all around’’ 

‘’A fish went to the sea sea sea, to see what he could see see see, but all that he could see see see, was plastic in the sea sea sea’’ 

Maybe, people looked at us and thought ‘’oh no, look at those doomsday wannabees’’ but the next time they went shopping, something triggered their memory, maybe just maybe, they double checked themselves. Who knows aye? Most capitalist advertisements push brands in our faces, the more we make it available for people to discuss plastic pollution, the more likely people will be to make subconscious behavioural alterations. 

But despite positivity, some people really didn’t give a shit. I had kids shout at me ‘’chuck all the plastic in the water, kill the animals’’ and people just out right pretending to be blind so i can’t talk to them (ngl i have done that a few times before from fundraisers and i am so sorry because it’s so mean). I have a story about a man, but if you feel like this applies to you then just think why? So, he comes by and takes a leaflet from my hand, I begin to talk but he quickly interrupts to tell me that he already knows ‘’all about plastic pollution’’ [congratulations hun, so you should]. It’s just slightly hypocritical because I spotted that shiny failure of capitalism in his ignorant hand. 

This is the attitude we need to challenge; that our consumer decisions do not play a role in the pollution cycle. Why, if he knows ‘all about’ plastic pollution does he carry a plastic bottle with such nonchalance?

There are many options, A: he could of been really busy on a sunny Saturday and I was ruining that with political nonsense [I’m not sorry], so he lied to save hassle. B: he knows that the bottle ends up spending 1000 years on this planet, fracturing into microplastic, to be consumed by fish and then by somebody, maybe even his granddaughter and unborn child at the dinner table? That the CO2 released during plastic pellet creation is double that released from aviation and if treated as a country would be the fifth biggest fossil fuel emitter in the world. That as a plastic bottled water drinker, his urine contains 90,000 microplastics more per year than his tap water drinking brother? That the physiological effects of microplastic inside the body are currently understudied but strong correlation research suggest plastics involvement in hormonal imbalance, infertility and cancer? Maybe he doesn’t have ‘time’ to go buy himself a reusable water bottle that he could use for life or maybe he just doesn’t care. He could think it a lie or conspiracy. He may not have the financial skills to work out that he would realistically be saving himself around £237.25 a year? Using the UK 65p average. If we start talking London prices, train station prices... then dear lord baby Jesus. He could save himself £438. These numbers are worked out on the presumption you buy one water bottle a day, never mind our takeaway hot drink culture [nor taking into account the amount we pay for our water bills, that deliver us the privilege of having drinking tap water]. These numbers will make you want to crawl up and cry/die, maybe both. Whether your main concern in financial or environmental, you win. So what i'm saying is, if you think climate change and plastic pollution aren’t real then still join the reusable movement. You could treat yourself to an annual binge of £237.25 worth of gü [if you’ve never had this, please sort it out, because it’s better than sex] or that swanky new biycle you’ve been eyeing up. 

I’m not perfect either, the other night it was a friday and i was picking up my gin and tonic. I purchased a tonic in plastic because it cost me £1.60 less than its glass kin. Now if i wasn’t scraping my bank to do other things [and trust me i am] I wouldn't have chosen plastic but not everyone has disposable income to splash. Here is another dilemma, how do we include the working class on the reusable, plastic free and locally sourced food when it is so pricey compared to greener brands. We cannot ignore the working class and this cannot be a middle class movement, it has to benefit those in need. As of 2019 22% of the working age UK public live under the poverty line that's 14.2 million people. If the movement does not include these people, if these children do not feel empowered, then it’s not going to work. We should thank our lucky stars that despite what people coin ‘chavs’ and areas that people dare to step in. There are dedicated, passionate teachers and community members who believe in these children. As a child from a council estate there is nothing more empowering than family and teachers who think and push you to become more. 

The purpose of writing this article is mainly to inspire people to make change and have fun. There are people out their that have not had the: education, support or opportunity to begin to even understand the true extent of plastic pollution. It doesn’t even have to be plastic pollution, it can be any issue that you resonate with. Unfortunately there is a lot of wrong and maltreatment in our society but we can’t just wish it away, hoping the politicians might solve it because they won't [we’re actually in a state of crisis, they can’t handle anything at the minute]. Whatever action how small is admirable, signing and sharing a petition is a start but why don’t we become the change we want to see. I guarantee you’ll be surprised by the friends you make and the conversations you have. This is why extinction rebellion will be successful. If you’re reading this and you’re free this weekend and aren't planning on heading down to support the Northern Rebellion in Manchester then just please rethink it. You might have one of the best days of your life, your future kids will thank and admire you i bet. 

Go have fun!!!!!