Merijn Tinga's goal is to reduce the amount of plastic bottles polluting the oceans. For him, the way to achieve this is through deposit systems, such as those that have existed in Germany for a long time. The UK and France do not yet have such systems, and Merijn found many British bottles in Scandinavia in particular. To set an example, he travelled from Oslo to London in 2023 and met with the responsible minister there. In 2024, he continued his journey and also travelled from London to Paris on a windsurfing board, where he also met high-ranking politicians. His board is made from plastic waste, some of the bottles are still visible.
Jasper Strik and Eelke Dekker made the short film "Upstream to Paris" about last year's expedition. The film premiered at Merihjn Tinga's New Year's event, where it was shown for the first time to waste activists, sponsors and friends. This week, from 24 to 28 February, "Upstream to Paris" is freely available online:
