The plastic in the sea is a regular topic of conversation. But the problem starts much closer to home. Almost 80% of all plastic in the sea comes from land and ends up there via our rivers and canals. The River Thames is one of the most polluted rivers in Europe with almost 85 pieces of microplastic per litre. It’s time to make a change. Dopper – the Dutch social enterprise which offers the solution to using disposable plastic bottles – issued a remarkably clear statement today. Dopper won’t rest until our waters are as clear as glass. Which is why we have developed a minimalistic and chic glass Dopper to get this message across. The tide needs to be turned and clean waters ought to be celebrated.
River clean-ups have revealed that 60% of litter in the River Thames consists of single-use plastic and that there would be much less rubbish in the water if there were more reusable plastics available.*
And that’s exactly what Dopper’s mission is all about: choose re-usable over single-use plastic and in that way ensure clean waters. Last Thursday, Merijn Everaarts – founder of Dopper – unveiled the latest addition to the reusable water bottle family: Dopper Glass. In his opinion, there can be no more excuses for buying water in single-use bottles.
Strong character
In addition to the statement this Dopper Glass makes, this bottle exudes style. It looks chic on your desk, on the kitchen table but also during dinner. Especially the double-walled - a thermos bottle - exudes luxury. The glass bottles are made of borosilicate glass. This type of glass is also used in laboratories. It’s thin, light and surprisingly sturdy. This Dopper has an extra thick bottom and therefore the bottle is super stable and strong. The thermos bottle holds up to 450 ml of crystal clear water (either hot or cold, or anything in between), the normal version holds up to 400 ml.
Impact of microplastics
‘Microplastics are tiny plastic particles – of up to 5mm – that end up in the environment. There is still a lot of ongoing research into the risks that these tiny pieces of plastics pose to people. What we do know, is that marine life is threatened by it. It doesn’t simply float on the surface; it lingers in the water and settles on the seabed. Just because you can’t see them, doesn’t mean that microplastics aren’t there. And that is the risk.’’, says Maarten Erich, Aquatic Biologist of By The Ocean We Unite. ‘’One thing is clear; we can’t create clean waters by the removal of harmful chemicals and bacteria from the 1.3 billion km3 of seawater, or by fishing every bit of plastic out of the ocean. No way. The course that we should take is prevention.’’
Dopper Glass is available from today.
Annex: Microplastics in European waters fact sheet.
*https://thegreatbubblebarrier.com/
**Research by Dr Christian Dunn, a senior lecturer at the School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, in North Wales, UK. www.bangor.ac.uk/natural-sciences/staff/christian-dunn