A host of celebrities and environmental campaigners have united in a video to promote a new challenge launched by Tearfund to reduce the use of plastic.
The 'Bin-go' challenge serves as part of a wider initiative called Plastic Free July and has been championed by award winning actor Tamsin Greig, David Gyasi, star of Netflix's The Diplomat, Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, baker and author Martha Collison, children's TV presenter Gemma Hunt, and skincare brand founder Liz Earle.
Participants are presented with 16 challenges on 'Bin-go cards' which they need to tick off during July to cut down their use of plastic, and document their progress on social media.
Challenges include simple tasks like purchasing plastic-free fruit and vegetables for a week and using a reusable water bottle instead of buying drinks in plastic bottles.
Environmental campaigners Laura Young, known on Instagram as Less Waste Laura, and John Chweya, head of the Kenyan Waste Pickers Association, have also joined the roster of supporters.
"The Bin-go challenge is a great way to cut down on unnecessary plastic waste by making small changes like going plastic free for a day, using a reusable coffee cup or by going on a litter pick," said Young.
"It's something fun you can do with your family and friends, and it's also a small way of standing in solidarity with those most at risk from plastic pollution."
She continued: "I have seen first-hand the impact single-use plastic is having on some of the world's poorest communities. In Uganda I witnessed plastic being burnt by roadsides and the devastating impacts discarded waste was having on communities. Globally we throw away about 300 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. That's enough to cover almost 50,000 football pitches a day."
Tearfund, an international relief and development agency, operates in over 50 of the world's poorest countries and it says that the effects of plastic being dumped or burnt is witnessed by partners daily.
Young, who is also a Tearfund ambassador, expressed that the dumping of plastic waste in these communities is making people sick, releasing toxic fumes and causing up to a million deaths each year.
"By taking action in our own lives, we help put pressure on companies and governments to create a world free from plastic pollution," she said.
Tearfund's drive to end plastic pollution continues as they head a campaign to raise awareness of the world's first plastics treaty. Their aim is to ensure that the treaty "brings an end to plastic pollution' and 'fully addresses the impacts on people living in poverty".
To find out more about the Bin-go challenge log onto www.tearfund.org/rubbishbingo and document your journey on social media by using #RubbishBingo. As well as taking action in your own life, join us in calling for an end to this plastic crisis globally through our petition by logging onto www.tearfund.org/rubbish
