ThePADDLER 10
Interviews with two of the best known
plastic pollution campaigners…
The Covid-19 crisis has outlined the problems we have with plastic pollution in our waters
both in the ocean and on our rivers. It was highlighted many times how the lockdown had
drastically reduced pollution, certainly on the rivers, and now how the reduction in lockdown
restrictions is having the opposite effect, as single-use plastics are once again increasing in our
waterways and oceans and we’ve become uncomfortably familiar with images of masks and
gloves in water courses, plus mountains of littler on public beaches. We asked Cal Major,
known for her work on keeping our oceans free from plastic, whom we interviewed two
years ago on her career and paddling highlights (https://paddlerezine.com/an-interview-withcal-major/),
and Paul Hyman, of Active360, equally well known for keeping our rivers clean, to
find their views on how we can get back on track for the future…
Interview: Peter Tranter Photos: James Appleton
Cal is a veterinary surgeon turned ocean advocate and stand up paddleboarder, campaigning to
stop plastic pollution at source, and reconnect people to nature. Cal became the first person in
history to SUP the length of the UK, a distance of 1,000 miles, from Land’s End to John
O’Groats, and the first woman to solo circumnavigate the Isle of Skye, Scotland. These
expeditions were used to raise awareness of plastic pollution in the ocean. Cal got into SUP in
2014 as a result of an injury and it’s fair to say she has never looked back.