My love of the ocean started from a young age, but I wasn’t aware of just how much of an impact it would have on me. Aged 2 I fell into a rockpool on holiday in Cornwall and that was how I learnt to swim! Then at 8 I was put onto a sailing course and pretty much never looked back.
Hannah Mills
Travelling around the country and world, training and competing in my sport, spending time in so many new places and being on the ocean enabled me to witness its power and ferocity, as well as the tranquil and calming effect she can have. The ocean is so vast and plays such a vital role in all our lives - it accounts for around 50% of the oxygen we breath but is also a massive carbon sink, taking carbon dioxide out the air for us and helping stabilise our climate in doing so.
But the more carbon dioxide the ocean absorbs, the warmer and more acidic she becomes, causing many major problems such as ecosystem collapse, damage to wildlife and for us as humans. Whilst out sailing at a young age it was common to see plastic pollution in the water, but I never stopped to think properly about why it was there or what damage it was doing. It wasn’t until spending time in Rio De Janeiro in the build up to the 2016 Olympic Games that this really changed for me.
We noticed a huge amount of plastic waste accumulated in the bay where we were training. It was devastating to see, wading through metres of plastic to launch our boat, getting stopped in our tracks due to it getting stuck under our boat and seeing the damage to the local beaches and wildlife from plastic pollution. It was stark and eye opening and made me want to use my platform to raise awareness, engage others and use what opportunities I had to make a difference.
Setting up the Big Plastic Pledge – an organisation to raise awareness and try and eradicate single use plastic in sport, between the 2016 Games and the Tokyo 2020(1) Olympics with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was a big milestone. Being able to speak about the things I cared about in the build-up and during the Tokyo Olympics really highlighted to me the importance of athletes using their voice on topics that matter.
Since then, I have become a Prevented Ocean Plastic Ambassador aiming to raise awareness of the incredible work they are doing around recycled plastics and helping to protect the ocean from plastic pollution, whilst creating a reliable income for people working in coastal communities in developing countries. One thing we can all do to make a difference is choose products in recycled plastic when we do our supermarket shop. Look out for the Prevented Ocean Plastic logo on plastic packaging like shampoo bottles or food products to know you are choosing recycled plastic which not only reduces CO2 emissions by cutting the use of virgin plastic but is also stopping plastic from polluting the oceans and damaging wildlife.
Of course, for me, reducing plastic, particularly single-use plastic wherever possible is a huge step that we should all be doing – check out Big Plastic Pledge for inspiration! Projections suggest that by 2050 our oceans will contain more plastic by weight than fish, so time is running out to make a difference. Our biggest impact is together, so please do sign petitions to protect the oceans and write to your local councillor about the changes you want to see this World Oceans Day and every day.