Marine Life & Conservation
Meet Wallace, a monster made from wet wipes, and find out why you should be a ‘binner’ not a ‘flusher’
Marine Conservation Society and South West Water set to reveal why misleading labelling must be wiped out
The UK’s leading marine charity and the water company that supplies Cornwall are joining forces to highlight the huge problems created by flushing wet wipes down the loo – with the help of a giant monster made out of wipes!
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is bringing Wallace the Wet Wipe Monster to Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth on Thursday 8th September for a joint event with South West Water.
Wallace will be the centrepiece of a day aimed at helping the public understand the financial and environmental cost of putting the wrong stuff down the loo. Created by Designs in Air, based in Bristol, Wallace is over 3m tall and 8m wide.
MCS say that the number of wet wipes found on UK beaches have increased by 400% over the last decade and there are now about 50 of the little squares found on every kilometre of coastline cleaned by the charity’s volunteers during just one weekend.
Wet wipes are one of the great convenience products of the 21st century – we can’t get enough of them – baby wipes, hygiene wipes, moist toilet tissue, cleaning wipes – our bathrooms are full of them. But instead of ending up in the bin when they’re finished with – many end up being popped down the loo. It’s not just the ones that we know shouldn’t be flushed that are causing the problems, but also those described as flushable or dispersible (in the case of moist toilet tissue). Water companies, like South West Water, are finding that, when flushed, these result in blockages because they don’t meet the water industry standard allowing them to be flushed.
South West Water says it costs them, and their customers, £4.5million each year to clear around 8,500 blockages in their sewerage network – about 65% of which are caused by wipes and other sanitary products being flushed down the toilet.
Last August, South West Water launched its Love Your Loo campaign to encourage customers only to flush the 3Ps – pee, paper and poo. Earlier this year MCS launched its Wet Wipes Turn Nasty When You Flush Them campaign to highlight the issue and encourage people to sign the charity’s petition for clearer labelling on all wipes packaging.
Laura Foster, MCS Head of Pollution says blockages can be expensive and cause a great deal of inconvenience to households but are completely avoidable: “Wallace, our wet wipe monster, is a great way to engage with people about what happens when wet wipes are flushed. We want retailers to remove any “flushable” labelling from their packaging so customers have the right information in their hands and become ‘binners’ not ‘flushers’ and only flush the 3Ps down the loo!”
Andy Willicott, Director of Operations (Waste Water) at South West Water, says wet wipes clog up pipes and affect the service to customers: “To combat this we’re pleased to team up with MCS to encourage more people to change their behaviours and only flush the 3Ps. We’re also working closely with the rest of the industry to persuade retailers and manufacturers to label their products responsibly so that our customers aren’t confused and our drains don’t get blocked.”
To find out more about the problems wet wipes cause, come and meet Wallace and his handlers from MCS and South West Water at Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth Cornwall on Thursday 8th September from 11am – 4pm.
If you can’t make the event then please visit the website and sign the petition for clearer labelling – www.wetwipesturnnasty.com and www.southwestwater.co.uk/loveyourloo.
After a two-year tour of UK art galleries, community spaces and aquariums, the Shark Trust’s acclaimed Oceanic31 exhibition takes its final bow at the Royal Geographical Society later this month. And the unique collection of artwork, depicting 31 species of oceanic sharks and rays, donated by 31 artists, is now open for bids from art lovers and shark enthusiasts. The online auction, launched today, will close on the 7th December at 8pm (BST). The money raised will support the Shark Trust Oceanics Programme.
People can now bid on 27 of the artworks by visiting this website:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
It is a chance to own a beautiful piece of original art and to support the Shark Trust. The timing of the auction also means that these would make a very special Christmas gift for any shark-lover.
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- Bigeye Thresher Shark by Janina Rossiter
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- Carcharodon carcharias by Jimmy Higgs
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- Croc VR 2030 by Tom Mead
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- Oceanic Whitetip by ATM
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- Silky Street by ScapaJoe
The diversity of pieces mirrors that of the sharks and rays they represent. You can bid on paintings, digital creations, sculptures, mixed media and more. You can pick your favourite artist or species of shark. Or you can select the perfect artwork to make a statement in your home or office. Whichever you choose, you will be supporting the work to protect these amazing animals.
One of the pieces of art has been selected to be auctioned live by Steve Backshall at the For the Love of Sharks event at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the 29th November. In addition to this, two further pieces will be raffled at this event, giving people a chance to win an incredible piece of shark art. For the Love of Sharks is the Shark Trust’s flagship evening. A night to celebrate sharks. Steve Backshall is the headline speaker at this event that will see other prominent shark advocates join him on stage.
Tickets for the event can be snapped up here:
https://thesharktrust.org.uk/Event/flos24
Those that would like to see the Oceanic 31 exhibition have one final chance. It is being displayed at the Pavilion at the Royal Geographic Society from 26th November until the 7th December. Entry is free.
Find out more here:
https://www.rgs.org/events/upcoming-events/oceanic-31
Paul Cox, Shark Trust CEO, Said “This exhibition has given us the opportunity to reach out to a new audience. And inspire more people with the wonderful sharks and rays on which our Big Shark Pledge campaign is based. We are immensely grateful to the 31 artists who have worked so hard to create these works.”
Bid for your favourite Oceanic 31 artwork here:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
Banner Image: Smooth Hammerhead by Alicia Hayden
Until 28 November, prizes worth a massive £10,000 – including experiences, products and tuition – feature in a line-up of items that can be won for £5 in an online prize draw to celebrate Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation’s 20th anniversary and help generate crucial funds for the future.
Top of the list of prizes is the chance to spend time with adventurer and wildlife expert Steve Backshall, a workout session with Nat Geo star Aldo Kane, a kayaking trip alongside white-water expert and diver Sal Montgomery and a Zoom call with ‘shark whisperer’ Cristina Zenato.
On top of that, some of the most admired companies in the diving and scuba industry have been quick to support the charity with fabulous prizes that make the £5 ticket price worth more than just a flutter.
Master Liveaboards, BSAC, Midlands Diving Chamber, Go Freediving and Blue Shark Snorkel have all generously donated experience prizes, while celebrated photographer Alex Mustard has donated a print and artists Scott Gleed and Olivier Leger have donated a sculpture and illustration to help boost the fundraising pot.
Fourth Element has donated Ocean Positive gear and LA watch company Nodus has gifted the charity a stunning dive watch. For land lovers, the charity has included a five star London hotel stay at Bankside Hotel plus a family visit to Longleat Safari Park in the roster of prizes.
Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with support from companies and individuals that we truly admire and who have supported us on our 20 year journey and we’re truly grateful to them all. While we feel incredibly proud of our achievements over the past two decades – and we are super excited about the next chapter – this prize draw isn’t a vanity project. It represents a real lifeline to our work and important advancements in the global protection of sharks. So we hope divers, dive clubs and even bargain hunters grab some tickets to make this a massive success.”
The charity hopes that the prize draw will generate crucial funds to launch a brand new, ground-breaking, campaign to enrol the public and increase support for the protection of sharks around the world.
To enter the competition visit www.bite-back.com/prizedraw. The prize winners will be announced on 1 December 2024.
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