Image: Ian Roman

Poole Harbour Boat Show, in association with Sunseeker, has big eco ambitions for its upcoming annual boat show and is showing its commitment to marine conservation.

Poole Harbour Boat Show Marketing Manager Tracy Payne said: “We are eliminating our use of single-use plastics wherever possible, and asking our exhibitors to do the same. We are providing them with our ‘top tips’ for being an eco-friendly exhibitor. We are encouraging visitors to the boat show to bring refillable water bottles and will provide details of all the refill stations to be found at the event in our show magazine. To continue with the reduction of single use plastic, Poole Quay Boat Haven will be providing refillable coffee cups to all of our exhibitors.”

It is not just the use of single use plastics that the Poole Harbour Boat Show are focusing on. Tracy continued: “We have hired in extra recycling collection points to make our visitors more aware of how they get rid of their rubbish. We are also delighted to have teamed up with ‘GoPladdle’ and to be collaborating with them for ‘The Big Harbour Clean Up’ which takes place from 18 – 19 May, in advance of the boat show in June.”

Founders of GoPladdle Jake Sculthorp and Rosie Bailey said: “GoPladdle was founded along the south coast of the UK, with a mission to unite communities and clean up our oceans and beaches, focusing not just on cleaning efforts but also prevention. Our team of volunteers will be driving the Big Harbour Clean Up in conjunction with the Poole Harbour Boat Show and ‘Surfers against sewage plastic free communities’.  We would urge anyone who would like to get involved in The Big Harbour Clean Up to get in touch and register their interest on www.bigharbourcleanup.com   We are keen to attract individual participants or groups.  We will be allocating pick up points around Poole Harbour and facilitating and co-ordinating the clean-up.  We are also particularly keen to attract clean up organisers.  We’ve got public liability insurance and risk assessments to make it easy for organisers to come on board.”

Continuing Jake added, “In recent years, awareness of plastic pollution has increased, but unfortunately, so has the scale of the problem. Of 13 billion plastic bottles used each year in the UK, only 7.7 billion (59 per cent) are collected for recycling. This begs the question, where are the other 41 per cent going?’ Please do get in touch and help to make a real difference to your local environment.We’d love to hear from you.” https://www.facebook.com/bigharbourcleanup/

Tracy concluded: “We will be displaying all the plastics that we find during the Big Harbour Clean Up at the boat show in order to create awareness and illustrate the problems we are facing with plastic pollution.  We would like to encourage others to be more environmentally aware, even the small changes can make a difference when we work together.”

The Poole Harbour Boat Show will open daily from 10am – 6pm, Friday 7 – Sunday 9 June. For further details visit: pooleharbourboatshow.co.uk.

The Poole Harbour Boat Show is being supported by Sunseeker, Sibbett Gregory, Coleman Marine Insurance, Conker Spirit, Elite Signs, Greenslade Pleasure Boats, PKF Francis Clark, Lester Aldridge, British Marine Wessex, MS Amlin, WQI Marine, Brittany Ferries, Rockley Watersports, Jenkins Marine and media partners Bournemouth Daily Echo and Wave 105.

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