Publicity from Laura’s efforts to clear up these spots eventually caught the attention of Dr. Christian Dunn at Bangor University and the two of them subsequently joined up to help test and document the hidden effects of plastic pollution on the UK’s waterways together. 

The first place they tested was on Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. “We took samples from what looked like crystal-clear mountain water and then, after running them through the labs, saw all these microplastics,” Laura says. “At that time, there hadn’t been much information out on microplastics, so we really didn’t know there were going to be any in that particular source. Once we found them, we realised it was a bigger problem than we’d expected. A month later, traces were also found in snow in the Alps. Then they started to find it everywhere. Even in the Antarctic.”

What Can Be Done

One way Laura believes we can help to alleviate the current plastic problem is for us all to make small changes ourselves. One such example, she says, could simply be taking a reusable flask such as a Hydro Flask on any adventures instead of picking up a plastic bottle on the journey there. 

But she also says that the individual can only go so far here. “Companies are churning plastic out at faster rates than they’ve ever done before,” she explains. “So I wanted to do something that would hit higher up the chain within the big companies. We plan to lobby the UK Government, because hopefully they’ll put legislation in place. And once legislation is in place, big companies will have to make changes. So, it’s not just cleaning up the places, you know, that’s never gonna fix the problem. It’s all interlinked.”

“What we want the government to do is to start testing for microplastics as an emerging contaminant like they do for nitrates and phosphates, because they currently don’t. And in order to get them to do that, we (We Swim Wild) started the Source-to-Sea campaign to track the levels of microplastics through our waterways. I think we have over 150 wild swimmers across the UK, from the Shetland Islands down to the Isles of Scilly, to Northern Ireland, and then to urban areas like Leeds.”

From greenwashing, to microplastics in the air, to recyclables that don’t get recycled, to governmental legislations; Laura’s passion for change is undeniable. What’s also apparent though, is her genuine belief that it a solution can eventually be found. 

“I think when people realise the scale of the problem, they’re more inclined to do something about it,” she says. “And this is the problem we’ve got. So let’s do something about it.”

Laura’s favourite Hydro Flask products:

• 32 oz Wide Mouth – brilliant for keeping drinks of tea toasty or enough water for myself and my son on a long trek to a mountain pool
• 28 oz Insulated Food Jar for keeping a veg chilli warm when on the go.

Shop for the latest products from Hydro Flask at:
webtogs.com

Main Photo: We Swim Wild

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