Opening of the day by Sharon Dijksma
The Rotary Festival on May 15 in Maarssen was opened with a speech by Sharon Dijksma, mayor of Utrecht. In her speech she discussed the importance of Service clubs and the willingness to do something for someone else in good and bad times ‚Service above Self‘. The speech can be read here.
Attention for plastic
During the Rotary Festival in Maarssen, there was a lot of attention for improving the Plastic life cycle: reduce, reuse & recycle. There was a lot of interest from Rotary clubs at both the inspiration market and during the presentations.
EndPlasticSoup at the inspiration market
EndPlasticSoup had a stand at the inspiration market and provided information about the problem of plastic pollution and how the EndPlasticSoup Foundation tackles this problem with Rotary clubs all over the world. Plastic-free soaps were handed out to the visitors.
Presentation EndPlasticSoup
In the afternoon there was a presentation about EndPlasticSoup by Wendela Sandberg. She talked about the problem of plastic and nanoplastics for our health and the environment. She also showed some examples of what Rotary clubs have achieved together with EndPlasticSoup and which projects are being done. Examples were the Limes Bubble Barrier in Katwijk and the CollextiX Boat in the Drina in Bosnia-Herzegovina (and new projects in the tributaries of the Danube). For the Bubble Barrier in Katwijk, EndPlasticSoup contributes from the proceeds of the 2 puzzles that Rotary Club Winschoten has had made.
Plastic recycling and building with plastic
Rotary Club Amsterdam-Nieuwendam had a miniature ‚plastic factory‘ that can be used to make plastic bricks for plastic houses or other materials from waste granules. At the stand, plastic ‚coins‘ were made in no time with a machine that heats the plastic granules to 200 degrees. This machine was a miniature example of the plastic factory of Save Plastics, which can be seen at the Floriade. EndPlasticSoup works together with Save Plastics to bring this recycling solution to the attention of Rotary worldwide.
Read more about the project of Rotaryclub Amsterdam-Nieuwendam
‘How do you teach children to recycle plastic? In the Rotary Recycling lab!’
Stop Plastic Waste Event at Floriade on June 4
Rotary Club Almere was at the inspiration market to promote the ‚Stop Plastic Waste Event‘ on June 4 at Floriade in Almere. Tickets are still available for this event with access to Floriade. More information about this event can be found here.
In the morning there was a presentation by Xander de Bruine from Floriade, in which he talked about the themes at Floriade around sustainability and ‚Growing Green Cities‘. In his presentation he showed that Floriade Expo 2022 is more than a green day out. There is an extensive knowledge program to make cities greener, healthier and more fun. Floriade brings together national and international governments, companies, scientists and visitors for knowledge sharing and collaboration on the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) of the UN. Xander de Bruine’s presentation can be viewed here.
EndPlasticSoup Puzzle
The Rotary club Winschoten was also present at the inspiration market. They sold, among other things, the EndPlasticSoup jigsaw puzzle ‚Summercamp‘, the second puzzle they had made. The first puzzle is now sold out, but the second puzzle can still be ordered.
EndPlasticSoup also at the Rotary Club Merchandise stand
Rotary Club Merchandise is the supplier of articles for Rotary, Rotaract and Interact clubs in Europe. Naturally, this organisation was also represented with a stand at the Rotary Festival. Articles with the EndPlasticSoup logo are also included in the extensive programme. If your club is organising a clean-up and/or is participating in the global EndPlasticSoup action day on 4 June, we recommend that everyone order vests or waste bags from Rotary Merchandise. The waste bags are made of recycled plastic, large for a lot of waste and also with the EndPlasticSoup logo!
The bags can be ordered via: https://www.club-merchandise.eu/nl/End-Plastic-Soup/
Last but not least
Big compliments to the Rotary Festival organization, because they have definitely reduced the plastic footprint of the festival with the reusable cups. After all, we know that 50% of the 400 million tons (57 kg per inhabitant) that we produce per year is single-use plastic. Rotary can organize all its events plastic-free. Imagine!
