PARLEY x SAS: Impacts from the Cold Water Islands Project

Our Cold Water Islands collaboration with Surfers Against Sewage has left coastlines cleaner and empowered islanders across the UK

This image: Isle of Harris, by Nils Leonhardt. Header image: Isle of Skye, by Scott Carroll

In 2019, we embarked on a mission with our collaborators Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) to inspire and empower eleven cold water island communities across the UK — supporting the local legends driving island-led solutions to marine plastic pollution. Based on learnings from SAS’s award-winning Plastic Free Communities campaign, the joint project explored plastic pollution pathways and promoted community-based solutions under the Parley AIR Strategy (Avoid, Intercept, Redesign) to demonstrate how these microcosms could provide a template for global action towards a plastic-free future.

Marine plastic pollution can have a big impact on these communities and ecosystems. Islands bear the brunt of our global plastic crisis, accumulating drifting debris on their beaches and coastlines. This waste can be especially difficult to deal with on islands, given their smaller geographic and population sizes, and separation from mainland facilities.

With smaller communities, though, comes more power to innovate, experiment and create solutions. Parley believes islands around the world can be catalysts for change, creating blueprints for new ways of living without plastic and other harmful materials.

Island Impacts — In Numbers

Overall, the Isle of Tiree had the largest impact with 62 beach cleanups and accounted for roughly half of all material collected

Isle of Skye, by Lorenzo Morandi

Image from an SAS cleanup in Tiree

Through this program, we were able to connect island communities across a diverse geographic spread around the UK, from more populated Islands like Orkney Island in Scotland, home to 20,000 people, to more desolate lands like Bardsey Island in Wales inhabited by a mere 15 people. Each participating island was appointed a community lead to engage with the local community and efficiently implement the AIR strategy. The island leaders were forced to adjust and reassess their strategy throughout the year, as each faced unique challenges in addressing plastic pollution pathways and contaminants.

Plastic-free pioneers

thanks to every island that got involved!

Scotland

Orkney, Northern Isles

Harris, Outer Hebrides

Skye, Inner Hebrides

Tiree, Inner Hebrides

Shetland, Northern Isles

Northern Ireland

Rathlin Island

Wales

Ynys Enlli (also called Bardsey Island)

Isle of White

England

Hayling Islands

Channel Islands

Alderney

Herm

Dingieshowe Beach on Orkney Island © VisitScotland / Kenny Lam.

The project gained traction with local press on the islands and over UK national press, featured in, Rathlin Community News, Shetland News, The Press & Journal, The Orradian, Portsmouth News,  Evening Standard, ITV News. 

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THE PARLEY AIR STRATEGY

AVOID

The Island achieves Plastic Free Community Status, including the formation of a community steering group and engaged grassroots network for change to manage actions against plastic, engaging the local authority/council, and schools.

INTERCEPT

Coordination of regular beach clean community events and collection of data regarding the type and source of the plastic pollution on their island.

REDESIGN

Reduce the island’s single-use plastic footprint by engaging and collaborating with local business and inspiring and educating individual actions and promoting Parley’s AIR strategy.

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