PLASTIC SOUP SURFER: LONDON TO PARIS

On June 22, ‘Plastic Soup Surfer’ Merijn Tinga will depart from London to surf to Paris, drawing attention to litter in the North Sea. This is Tinga’s 10th long-distance surf expedition. Tinga wants France to quickly implement deposit return schemes for plastic bottles. He will be surfing on a windsurf board made partly from plastic bottles collected from the Seine in Paris. Tinga hopes to arrive in Paris on July 11. In Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will welcome him. Tinga said, “With her help, I am organizing a conference  at L’ Academie du Climat on deposit return schemes the evening I finish. With this conference, I aim to achieve concrete agreements.”

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The surf journey from London to Paris follows the windsurf journey from Oslo to London (1800 km) in 2023. Upon arrival in London last year, Tinga was received in Westminster by Lords and MPs while still in his wetsuit. Merijn Tinga has been fighting against litter for ten years and wrote the 2017 Dutch Parliament motion that enabled the introduction of deposit return schemes for plastic bottles and cans in the Netherlands. The introduction of deposits in the Netherlands reduced littering by bottles and cans by 80% within 6 months.

Surf to Sender

During his sailing and surfing trips, Tinga has seen a lot of litter drifting from the UK but also from France. For example he found plastic bottles from England and the Netherlands on the Swedish and Norwegian coasts due to sea currents. These Scandinavian countries have had deposit return schemes for years but are still burdened with waste from other countries. Just like in the UK, France has been discussing deposit return schemes for years. Tinga; “I want my journey to accelerate the implementation of deposit return schemes there. Plastic waste from France ends up on our North Sea coasts. With this expedition, I want to symbolically return those French plastic bottles to the source: return to sender.”

Surfing Stalker

Along the way, Tinga will stop at various places to raise awareness about plastic pollution, he will participate in Beach Cleanups held on his behalf and will speak with mayors and environmental organizations along the coast. “The expedition from Oslo to London last year was the most challenging and intense journey so far. And even though London-Paris is shorter, I expect this surf trip to be just as tough, especially because I will have to paddle against the current of the Seine to reach Paris. I sometimes feel like a ‘surfing stalker’, a tremendous amount of effort to speak to a few decision makers who I know can make the difference. And through them my campaign can make a difference.”

Mushroom Surfboard

Tinga is originally a biologist and artist. He makes his own surfboards from plastic litter. In this case plastic bottles from the Paris Seine, the London Thames, recycled polystyrene, and fungal threads (mycelium). By using these new materials, he wants to prove that there are various circular and sustainable alternatives and that plastic is often unnecessary. He made the surfboard together with renowned surfboard maker Ron van den Berg, students from Inholland University of Applied Sciences, and Synprodo, a company that makes 100% recycled polystyrene.

The ‘Plastic Soup Surfer’ journey can be followed via his social media and via www.plasticsoupsurfer.org