Rise Above Plastics (RAP) is designed to eliminate the impacts of plastics in the marine environment by raising awareness about the dangers of plastic pollution and by advocating for a reduction of single-use plastics and the recycling of all plastics.
The ocean is turning into a plastic soup.
Most plastic pollution at sea starts out on land as litter on beaches, streets and sidewalks. Rain or overwatering flushes that litter through a storm drain system or directly to creeks, streams and rivers that lead to the ocean. After plastics enter the marine environment, they slowly photodegrade into smaller pieces that marine life can mistake for food, sometimes with fatal results. Ocean gyres concentrate plastic pollution in five main areas of the world’s ocean and various research groups are bringing back alarming data documenting plastics impacts.
Plastic—it’s all around us.
It’s in our homes, our offices, our vehicles, our yards, our playgrounds. We use it to package food, bottle products, bag produce, make dinnerware and utensils, make toys….
Plastics have undoubtedly helped us to manufacture, package and ship goods more easily, for less money, and in some cases more safely than ever before.
But, plastics pose a significant threat to our planet as well.
Part of the problem is plastic itself. The very qualities that make it an adaptable and durable product to use, also make plastic an environmental nightmare. You see, plastics do not biodegrade. Instead they photodegrade – breaking down under exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, into smaller and smaller pieces.
Bottom line: with the exception of the small amount that has been incinerated, virtually every piece of plastic that was ever made still exists in some shape or form.
RAP Initiatives in San Diego County
The RAP mission is to reduce the impacts of plastics in the marine environment by raising awareness about the dangers of plastic pollution and by advocating for a reduction of single-use plastics and the recycling of all plastics. Surfrider Foundation San Diego County takes a multi-pronged approach to achieving this mission, all aimed at stopping plastic pollution at the source!
Hold Onto Your Butt
How Will YOU Rise Above Plastics?
We all have a role to play in the fight against plastic pollution. The RAP program is a vehicle through which YOU can launch your own campaign to reduce plastics in your home, school, workplace, or community. RAP volunteers have presented at schools, hosted screenings of plastic pollution documentaries at local businesses, held reusable bag giveaways in front of grocery stores, and even organized “Straws Suck” bar crawls to educate the community in a fun, interactive way. As long as it furthers our shared goal of reducing single-use plastics, the sky’s the limit!
If you have an idea and are willing to execute, we’d like to hear about it.
Our RAP Volunteer Committee meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 7pm; see our Events Calendar for details.
For more information, please email RAP@surfridersd.org.