Antonio de la Rosa, of Spain, accomplished something most people could only dream of. He traveled from San Francisco, California to Honolulu, Hawaii on a paddleboard and highlighted the plastic pollution problem the world is facing along the way.
The 2,951-mile journey took him 76 days. The only company he had, aside from his paddleboard, were the fish in the sea—and plastic. From plastic packaging to the remains of fishing nets, not a day went by that Antonio didn’t see a piece of plastic in the Pacific, he said.
Antonio crossed the Pacific on a specially designed paddleboard with a small sleeping area that also stored equipment to purify and remove salt from seawater and turn it into drinking water. He woke up every hour at night to check his GPS and ensure he hadn’t drifted too far off track.
Around the world, people are making statements to bring attention to the plastic pollution epidemic. In July, a recent college grad started running across the United States to raise awareness about plastic pollution and teach people that just because they don’t live by an ocean, doesn’t mean their trash won’t end up there. Whether it’s a walk around the neighborhood picking up trash, participating in a beach cleanup, or speaking to your community about the negative effects of plastic pollution—remember even small actions play an important role in the greater fight against plastic pollution!