Some plastic items, such as water bottles, take up to 450 years to break down. That bottle of water you picked up at the shop to drink while out and about will be around for generations.
Although this problem is global, the UK is not blameless, in fact the amount of plastic waste generated in the UK alone is estimated to be nearly 5 million tons! That is the equivalent of 5 million fully grown polar bears, imagine those in our waterways!
So, what can be done? This issue is critical but in no way a lost cause, by making changes now we can start to stop future damage being done and even correct damage made. If more people recycled their plastic waste instead of putting it in general waste if more made swaps to sustainable and reusable products we could start to see a real change.
It is also a case of spreading the message. This infographic is aimed not only at people already living on the waterways but those who want to find boat moorings to start living on them as well. If these boaters and potential boaters started making changes then a difference would start to be seen.