EndPlasticSoup

EndPlasticSoup is Rotary’s own movement against plastic pollution. Its goal: by 2050, no more plastic soup in our oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, forests, parks and streets.

Started

2018, by Rotary clubs in District 1580, Amsterdam

Status

Dutch registered charity since January 2020; the plastics task force within ESRAG

People

Gert-Jan van Dommelen, co-founder and co-leader of ESRAG’s Plastic Solutions Taskforce; Marja Ritterfeld, chair of the German chapter

Website

endplasticsoup.nl

How it began

On 2 June 2018, more than 200 Rotarians and 100 children fished plastic from Amsterdam’s canals from more than 20 boats, on the day Boyan Slat of The Ocean Cleanup received the Leonardo da Vinci prize. The event launched a campaign modelled on Rotary’s End Polio Now: a local idea shared through Rotary’s global network. Within about two years it was supported by some 1,500 clubs, with Ambassador Clubs in dozens of countries.

What clubs do

• Cleanups and plastic fishing, including the Worldwide EndPlasticSoup Action Day on the first Saturday of June.
• School and sport challenges on awareness, reduction and waste separation.
• Plastic-free events, starting with Rotary’s own meetings and conferences.
• Supermarket, restaurant and hotel challenges to cut single-use plastic.
• Support for innovators such as The Great Bubble Barrier and The Ocean Cleanup, and for local circular economy projects.

Join as a club

Any Rotary, Rotaract or Interact club can become an EndPlasticSoup Ambassador Club, represent the initiative in its area and coordinate local action days. Start at endplasticsoup.nl or through ESRAG.

EndPlasticSoup (the Rotary initiative) is a separate organization from the Plastic Soup Foundation, an Amsterdam advocacy group that EndPlasticSoup refers to for education materials. Both are in our database.