Eric Torrington's Letter

To children of the future,

Dear Future Reader.

Sorry. Sorry that my generation has presented you with a legacy of plastic pollution. Today it is predicted that there will shortly be more plastic in the sea than fish. I fear that you are reading this in a world where this prediction held true. When I was 14 in 1974, I did my first beach litter pick. Little did I know that in 2022 every beach in the world would be impacted by plastic and other litter to some extent. In the Pacific Ocean, we have a giant patch of floating plastic 3 times the size of France. Fortunately, the Big Ocean Cleanup Project is currently ongoing, and I hope they were successful in their mission to remove this plastic mess, and from rivers and other oceans. I did try to lead by example. I spent a lot of time litter picking, campaigning, and writing to the UK government, MPs, and businesses to clean up their act and our country. I may have had their ear, but they did nothing. I‘ve already picked up hundreds of thousands of pieces of plastic and other litter in the process and will continue to do so. I do hope you can enjoy a walk along a beach as I did, leaving only footprints. However, we are now drowning in plastic and my fear is that you are as well. I do hope not.

Yours with love

Eric Torrington