The Run Club Helping To Clean The Oceans - A Million Dead Birds & A Dying Ocean: The Urgent Fight Against Ocean Plastics

Why the Fate of the Oceans Determines Our Own - And How You Can Help.

By Nick Butter

Every day, 8 million pieces of plastic enter our oceans.

In this article, you’ll discover the realities of ocean plastic pollution, why I’m passionate about this cause, and how you can help make a real difference — simply by going for a run. It’s a powerful idea, and I’m proud to share it with you. Keep reading.

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The Sunrise Run Club that’s cleaning the ocean’s. One jog got at a time.

We’ve already hit the ground running — quite literally. Every morning this May at 06:30 UK time, a growing crew of sunrise runners is lacing up and joining me via Sprint Crowd’s cutting-edge app, and trust me, it’s turning into something special.

It’s virtual, it’s free, and it’s making an impact.

The Sunrise Run Club is at 06:30 UK time — and you can join in from anywhere on the planet, free of charge. Picture it: head out your front door, open the Sprint Crowd app, pop your phone in whatever running pouch you have, ear phones in, start your watch, and off you go. You’ll hear me introduce the run session (it’s only a casual 30 minutes, and you can walk, jog or sprint).

Jog to the soft chatter of a global running tribe starting their morning right. As we run, I’ll be in your ear, not just to motivate, but to listen, answer questions, and spark conversations that remind us we’re part of something bigger than just clocking miles. For me, this is about anchoring a little consistency into our often chaotic lives, creating a daily ritual that feeds both mental resilience and physical health. Let’s be honest, few things beat the sense of calm and clarity that comes from moving your body while the sun rises on a new day.

But here’s the kicker that makes this so much more than just a good sweat: for every 10 minutes you run, Sprint Crowd and their partners at The Ocean Cleanup will remove one kilo of plastic from the ocean. That means every step you take is literally helping to heal the planet — not metaphorically, not aspirationally, but tangibly. My big, slightly audacious goal? To rally this global crew of sunrise runners to collectively clear 10 tonnes of plastic from our oceans. So I’m asking — no, I’m inviting — you to lace up, plug in, and be part of this beautifully human collision of movement, connection, and purpose. It’s free, it’s simple, it’s meaningful — and who knows, it might just change the way you greet your mornings.

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Article Contents:

• 8 Million Pieces a Day: The Scale of the Ocean Plastic Crisis
  A powerful look at why this matters — for the planet, marine life, and us.

• The Sunrise Run Club: Turning Miles Into Meaning
  How a global tribe of runners is transforming morning jogs into ocean-saving action.

• Why I’m Running for the Oceans
  A personal reflection on mental health, physical resilience, and why this mission matters to me.

• Plastic’s Toll on Wildlife and Humanity
  From whales and turtles to microplastics in our blood — the far-reaching impact of plastic pollution.

• From Problem to Progress: The Cleanup Heroes
  A spotlight on The Ocean Cleanup, local champions, and the innovations driving hope.

• What You Can Do: Run, Reduce, and Raise Your Voice
  Practical, empowering steps to join the movement and help turn the tide.

• Stories That Hit Home
  Real-life accounts from the frontlines — from a starving whale to teenage activists.

• Where to Learn, Who to Follow, and How to Stay Inspired
  The top organizations, Instagram accounts, and leaders making waves in ocean conservation.

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Why I’m Doing This

In the blue vastness of the Pacific Ocean floats a continent that shouldn’t exist. Known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Arguably it shouldn’t be called ‘great’, but instead horrendous. This man made mess sprawls across an area three times the size of Japan, containing 100 million kilograms of plastic. This is made up of a staggering 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic. From fishing nets to bottle caps to microscopic beads invisible to the naked eye, this synthetic soup is not just a symbol of environmental neglect. It is a warning, and we are running out of time to heed it.

Every day, 8 million pieces of plastic enter our oceans. Every year, we dump 14 million tonnes, much of which settles on the seabed, unseen but lethal. The oceans, once humanity’s great provider, is becoming a plastic graveyard.

But the most terrifying part? We depend on these oceans for our survival.

The Ocean’s Silent Cry

Plastics now make up 80% of marine debris studied globally. While some wash up on shorelines, most remain at sea, drifting in currents, breaking down into microplastics, and infiltrating the marine food chain.

Marine wildlife is on the front line of this crisis. Every year, plastic pollution kills approximately 100,000 marine mammals and turtles, and over 1 million seabirds. Turtles mistake drifting plastic bags for jellyfish. Seabirds feed plastic pellets to their chicks. Dolphins and whales ingest or become entangled in ghost fishing nets.

Coral reefs, often called the “rainforests of the sea,” are under siege. Studies show that plastic debris increases the likelihood of disease on coral reefs by 22 times. In the Asia Pacific alone, over 11 billion plastic particles now entangle delicate coral branches, turning vibrant underwater cities into plastic-scarred wastelands.

These aren’t just numbers. They are tragedies.

Consider the story of a sperm whale stranded on the shores of Spain in 2018. Inside its stomach, scientists found 64 pounds of plastic, including ropes, nets, and plastic bags. It starved to death, its stomach so packed with indigestible waste that no food could pass through.

Or the albatross chicks of the Midway Atoll, whose parents feed them bottle caps and cigarette lighters, mistaking them for squid or fish. Thousands die before they fledge, their bellies packed with plastic, their skeletons surrounded by a halo of manmade debris.

Every year a million birds die as a result of plastic pollution. If that wasn’t bad enough, we also kill 100,000 marine mammals including turtles simply because plastic is clogging the oceans.

The Human Cost

The crisis does not end with marine animals. Sixty percent of fish consumed by humans now contain microplastics. 60% is huge. These tiny fragments, often less than 5mm, have been detected in human blood, lungs, and even brain tissue. Research links them to cancer, infertility, and nervous system damage.

Seafood sustains 3 billion people globally. For coastal communities from Senegal to Indonesia, the ocean is not a distant wilderness — it’s their pantry, their livelihood, their cultural heart. But as fish stocks decline and plastic contamination spreads, these communities face existential threats. I’ve seen first hand the affects on

And the cost is rising. The plastic industry contributes significantly to climate change. By 2050, plastic production and incineration could emit 56 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases, accounting for up to 14% of the earth’s remaining carbon budget. That’s more than the entire aviation sector.

How Did We Get Here?

Plastic was once hailed as a miracle material. Lightweight, durable, and cheap, it revolutionized packaging, medicine, construction, and transportation. But we were seduced by convenience. Single-use plastic exploded in the postwar era: bottles, bags, straws, wrappers — all designed to be used once and discarded.

Today, humanity has produced over 8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastic, and only 9% has ever been recycled. The rest has been incinerated, buried in landfills, or dumped into nature.

Our throwaway culture, combined with inadequate waste management, has turned rivers into plastic highways, ferrying trash from city streets to the open sea. The Yangtze, the Ganges, the Mekong — all major plastic contributors — carry the detritus of human consumption to the ocean.

The Cleanup Heroes

Yet amid this bleak picture, extraordinary efforts are underway.

In 2024, The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch nonprofit, removed 11.5 million kilograms of trash from oceans and rivers — more than all previous years combined. Using giant floating barriers, the organization skims plastic from the water like a massive pool skimmer.

Across the world, local initiatives are mobilizing volunteers. In Bali, the Bye Bye Plastic Bags movement, founded by two teenage sisters, has spearheaded grassroots campaigns to reduce single-use plastic. In Kenya, a country that banned plastic bags in 2017, women’s cooperatives are turning plastic waste into building materials.

Surfers Against Sewage in the UK has transformed beach cleanups into a national movement, while 4Ocean funds cleanup operations through the sale of bracelets made from recycled materials. Even major corporations are stepping in — Unilever, Nestlé, and Coca-Cola, long criticised for their plastic footprints, have pledged to reduce virgin plastic use and invest in circular packaging.

What You Can Do

Get out and run at 06:30 from wherever you are.

The scale of the crisis can feel overwhelming, but solutions are within reach, if we act collectively.

1. Reduce single-use plastics: Say no to plastic bags, straws, and cutlery. Carry reusable bottles, cups, and shopping bags. Choose products with minimal packaging.

2. Support circular economies: Advocate for legislation that incentivizes recycling and penalizes polluters. Support companies that use recycled or biodegradable materials.

3. Join cleanups: Whether it’s a local riverbank, beach, or urban park, every piece of trash removed makes a difference.

4. Hold corporations accountable: Demand transparency and action from brands. Push for extended producer responsibility, ensuring companies take back and recycle the packaging they create.

5. Educate and advocate: Raise awareness in schools, workplaces, and communities. The more people understand the stakes, the stronger the political mandate for change.

A Future Worth Fighting For

The oceans cover 71% of the planet’s surface, generate half of the oxygen we breathe, regulate climate, and support a staggering diversity of life. They have fed, healed, inspired, and connected humanity for millennia.

But they are not invincible.

The crisis of ocean plastics is not just an environmental problem, it’s a human one. It touches on health, justice, economics, and intergenerational responsibility. And while the numbers are daunting, the greatest danger is not the scale of the problem, but our failure to act.

As the marine biologist Sylvia Earle said, “No water, no life. No blue, no green.”

It’s time to choose a different future — one where the oceans thrive, and so do we.