Online dive center rating company rateyourdive.com has launched the “Bin Bag Challenge” to inspire and encourage people to clean up plastic waste from the world’s beaches.
Plastic waste, especially in the oceans, has become a worldwide problem. To combat this, the folks at rateyourdive.com and the German division of Ban’s Diving Resort, a diving school on Koh Tao, Thailand, have issued the following challenge: Collect waste wherever you are and share your success stories via social media. By doing so, awareness of the plastic problem will be raised and, bit by bit, action is taken against it at the same time.
Ricardo Wenzel, CEO of rateyourdive.com and co-initiator of the challenge, explains:
“We use the idea of the Ice Bucket Challenge, which went around the world a few years ago. With the #binbagchallenge we want to raise awareness for the worldwide pollution of the oceans in particular and, at the same time, provide part of the solution. Thanks to the idea of ‘virality,’ small steps are taken worldwide to fight environmental pollution. The objective above all is to raise awareness for this issue and put pressure on politicians and the economy, forcing them to do something as well.”
You don’t just have to be near a beach to participate, though. Co-initiator Alex Mitsch of the German team at Ban’s Diving Resorts on Koh Tao has a promise:
“No matter where you are, whether in Thailand or Germany — if you walk around anywhere for an hour and do not find any rubbish that you can pick up, then you will get a free diving course from me!”
To see what’s been done so far, check out the Bin Bag Challenge Facebook page.
