CAMPAIGNS

This spring’s Nice–Rome expedition is the next chapter. A long solo journey on a self-built board, incorporating littered plastic bottles from the river Tiber, and a clear call for change: Italy can make the same leap. The tools exist. Along the route we call on the litterpick communities to start collecting data instead of only litter. To provide evidence in clearcut numbers. Data is objective not an opinion.

The campaign is not only about Italy. It is about sharing our lessons learned - how to mobilise citizens, collect data and turn awareness into policy. From Oslo to Rome, from the water to the halls of power.

The route is long and often against the current.
But change begins the moment you move.

On 21 May, Plastic Soup Surfer Merijn Tinga will conclude his 750 km Nice–Rome windsurf expedition with a brief meeting with Pope Leo XIV, a symbolic finale to a journey that began four years ago in Oslo. For over a decade, Merijn has traced plastic pollution along Europe’s rivers and coastlines, showing that deposit-return systems for bottles and cans work -  reducing litter by 80%. This expedition carries the same message to Italy: tools exist, citizens can be mobilised, and data can turn awareness into policy. From Oslo to Rome, change begins the moment you move.

Operation Overload exposed overflowing public waste bins as a direct source of litter, driven by rising on-the-go consumption. The report was presented to the Dutch Parliament on 18 April 2023, leading to discussions with the Ministry. We called for identifying a “litter-risk index” per packaging type, introducing financial incentives for better design. Less volume, smarter design, less litter.

Operation Takeaway Containers documented 6,621 littered food containers across the Netherlands. The findings were presented to the Dutch Parliament on 17 December 2024. This led to the abolishment of the plastic surcharge and we argued for a ban on plastic containers based on evidence. Photo analysis reveals where plastic-free alternatives already exist, and where policy should drive redesign, reuse, or deposit-return systems.