One Million Pieces of Plastic, and the Story Behind Them
- Kate McNab
- 10 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Just over twenty months ago, in Samoa, we set ourselves an ambitious target: preventing one million pieces of plastic from entering Commonwealth waterways, one piece at a time. This week, on the banks of Glasgow's River Clyde, two days before the Commonwealth Games began, we reached it.
Behind that number is a genuinely Commonwealth-wide effort: over 50 partner organisations, more than 15,000 volunteers, and communities across 74 nations and territories, all working toward one shared goal.
"The Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign began with a simple but ambitious idea: that by working together, Commonwealth citizens could help tackle one of the defining environmental challenges of our time...
The campaign has demonstrated what communities united by shared purpose can achieve."
- Janet Cooper OBE, Chair of the Royal Commonwealth Society
From a community in Kiribati that turned a clean-up into an income for local families, to a mural in Antigua and Barbuda built entirely from collected bottle caps, our Impact Report tells the stories behind the numbers, and the people who made this milestone possible.
ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN
The Royal Commonwealth Society’s Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign has prevented over one million pieces of plastic from entering Commonwealth waters.
The campaign will combine education and local action to encourage people to reduce their plastic waste, highlight alternatives, and reduce pollution across the Commonwealth.
For the action component of the campaign, the Royal Commonwealth Society has partnered with Commonwealth Sport to deliver the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign as a core component of The King’s Baton Relay. This newly envisioned King’s Baton Relay will focus on sustainability and environmentalism and was launched by His Majesty The King at Buckingham Palace on Commonwealth Day 2025, beginning a 500-day journey to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July 2026.
Journeying through every Commonwealth nation and territory, this partnership will brings together young people, athletes, conservation groups, and the local community for a week of activities, including a plastic clean-up.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Royal Commonwealth Society.