Merijn Tinga

---

Merijn Tinga (Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, 1972) is a Dutch environmental activist. As the Plastic Soup Surfer he fights against plastic pollution and the plastic soup.

From 2016 to 2020, he campaigned for the introduction of a deposit fee on small plastic bottles and cans in the Netherlands.

He used different campaign methods: kiteboarding and standup paddleboarding expeditions to raise awareness of the plastic soup problem, a motion for Dutch House of Representatives that was adopted by the Dutch Government, judicial notices handed over by bailiffs to CEO's of companies causing plastic pollution, collecting photo's of littered products and holding companies accountable for this, a lawsuit and covenants.

Biography

Plastic Soup Surfer

Merijn Tinga, biologist, visual artist and kitesurfer, was confronted with the plastic litter he saw on the beaches. Since 2014 he combined art and activism under the name of the Plastic Soup Surfer. On a kiteboard made of plastic litter he had found on the beaches, Tinga kiteboarded 350 km along the Dutch and Belgian coast to raise awareness of the plastic soup problem. In the summer of 2015, he collected floating plastic as he sailed along the coast of Scandinavia. During this trip Tinga realized that cleaning up plastic waste will not solve the plastic soup problem.

Campaigns for the introduction of deposit fees for small plastic bottles

In the period 2016-2020, Tinga, as the Plastic Soup Surfer, campaigned for the introduction of deposit fees on small plastic bottles and cans in the Netherlands.

North Sea crossing and motion

On September 2^nd, 2016, in an attempt to enter the Guiness Book of Records (with the entry of first North Sea crossing by foil kite), Tinga kitesurfed from Scheveningen, the Netherlands, across the North Sea to Lowestoft, England on a foilboard made of plastic littered bottles. With this trip, he drew attention to a petition for a deposit fee on small plastic bottles. He presented a petition motion that called for 90% less plastic littered bottles within three years, together with 57.000 collected signatures, in the Dutch House of Representatives on February 14^th, 2017. Tinga had the attending Members of Parliament sign this petition. Two days later the petition motion was adopted by the Dutch Government.

In 2018 the petition motion was used by Dutch State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management for a 'two-track policy' according to which deposit fees were to be introduced, unless the business community was able to achieve a 70% reduction in littered bottles through other means.

Rhine SUP tour From Source to Sea

In 2017 Tinga made a 1200 km standup paddle trip down the Rhine, From Source to Sea, on a standup paddleboard made of littered bottles. Tinga's aim was to get in contact with CEO's of companies that were blocking the introduction of deposit fees in the Netherlands. During the trip he collected the waste he found in the Rhine or along the banks.

Bailiff and judicial notice

In order to get in contact with CEO's of big manufacturing and retail companies and hold them accountable, Tinga developed a new strategy: using a bailiff with a ''judicial notice''. This legal instrument is a 'declaration of awareness' by which companies are formally informed of the pollution, dangers and consequences of the litter as a result of their products or packaging. From the moment that a judicial notice is handed over to the CEO, a company is no longer able to claim to be unaware of these facts.

After the standup paddle expedition down the Rhine, Tinga approached the CEO's of companies that either produced or sold products of which he had collected plastic litter along the way and that tried to block the introduction of deposits on small plastic bottles. This way he was able to meet with the CEO's of big Dutch retail companies and soft drink manufacturers such as Coca Cola, Pepsico and Heineken.

Introduction of deposits for small plastic bottles and cans

In 2020, the State Secretary concluded that the business community was unable to reduce plastic litter in the Netherlands by 70% within three years. Therefore she decided to introduce a deposit fee on small plastic bottles as of July 2021. In 2021 she decided to introduce a deposit on cans as of 31^st of December 2022.

Removing plastic polluting products from shops

Cooperation with Dirk Groot

In 2018, Tinga started combating plastic pollution by collecting photos of plastic litter as evidence of the pollution and approaching the manufacturing and retail companies together a bailiff to get them to come up with solutions. He did this in cooperation with Dirk Groot, who, by the name of Zwerfinator, fights against litter.

Collected photo's, a judicial notice, a lawsuit and covenants

In 2018, Groot and Tinga targeted Pervasco, the manufacturer of Anta Flu throat lozenges. Within a year, Groot collected 16,000 photos of plastic wrappers. Groot and Tinga approached the CEO of Pervasco, together with a bailiff who handed him a judicial notice. As a result, Pervasco switched to biodegradable paper wrappers in 2020.

At the end of 2019, Tinga and Groot focused on Crackling Balls, light fireworks which is sold all year round in the Netherlands. Tinga and Groot collected thousands of photos of littered plastic shards from crackling balls and, in cooperation with the Leiden Advocacy Project on Plastic (LAPP) of Leiden University, prepared a lawsuit against the Dutch retailers of these fireworks in November 2019. Within a few weeks, most of the retailers stopped selling Crackling Balls. As a result, the grounds on which the lawsuit were based were no longer valid. Tinga and Groot drew up the Crackling Ball Covenant. By signing, almost all Dutch retail companies pledged to stop the sale of fireworks containing plastics as of January 1^st 2021.

In 2020, Tinga and Groot, by means of presenting 10.000 photos they had collected, convinced retail companies to sign the Splash Plastic Covenant by which the retailers pledged to stop selling plastic splash water balloons as well as plastic confetti.

Mars candy wrappers

In the spring of 2021, Groot and Tinga focused on candy wrappers made by Mars Incorporated. Within a few months they collected more than 15,000 photos of these wrappers. On May 1^st 2021, Mars stated on Dutch Television it did not intend to switch to biodegradable candy wrappers, but promised to come up with a solution for the litter before 2025.

The Plastic Avengers Manifest

In 2019, Tinga organised a conference for Dutch actors in the field of plastic. During the conference, over 100 Plastic Avengers drafted the Plastic Avengers Manifest, a framework for a new way of dealing with plastic. In 2019, Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr. Frans Timmermans, became the official ambassador of this Manifest.

Bibliography

Merijn Tinga, Plastic Soup Surfer. Hoe één persoon verschil kan maken. Uitg. Hollandia 2021. ISBN 9789064107252

Filmography

Eelke Dekker: Message on a bottle (2016).  About Merijn Tinga's North Sea crossing on a kite foil. The documentary was premiered in Omniversum, The Hague, the Netherlands, and broadcasted at Omroep West (regional TV).

Eelke Dekker:  From Source to Sea (2018). About Merijn Tinga's SUP tour down the river Rhine. The film premiered in Pathe cinema and was broadcasted several times by National Geographic and screened at film festival.

Eelke Dekker: Plastic Paradox (2019). Documentary about the 2017 Rhine SUP tour and the Plastic Avengers Conference. This documentary was broadcasted by National Geographic.

External links

• Fighting against plastic pollution and plastic soup

This article "Merijn Tinga" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Merijn Tinga. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

This page exists already on Wikipedia.

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)

• Avadi Municipal Corporation
• Queensway Academy
• East Japan
• Niceway India
• National Hispanic Media Coalition Impact Awards
• Rebal Alkhodari Syrian Musician
• Oplenac - History of the Region

---