Merijn Tinga

Merijn Tinga (Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, 1972) is a Dutch visual artist, kitesurfer and environmental activist. As the Plastic Soup Surfer he takes action to raise awareness for problems caused by plastic litter.
From 2016 to 2020, he campaigned for the introduction of a deposit fee on small plastic bottles and cans in the Netherlands.
He used different methods to achieve his goals: kiteboarding and standup paddleboarding expeditions to raise awareness of the plastic soup problem, a self-written motion for Dutch House of Representatives that was adopted by the Dutch government, Judicial notice handed over by Bailiff to CEO's of companies causing plastic pollution, collecting great amounts of photo's of littered products and holding companies accountable for this.
In June 2021, his book Plastic Soup Surfer. Hoe één persoon verschil kan maken was published (in Dutch only).
== Biography ==
=== Artist ===
Tinga studied biology at the Leiden University, the Netherlands. After completing his studies in 1996, he became a biology teacher. During a bicycle trip to Morocco in 2001, he decided to become a visual artist. Together with Joost Haasnoot he became known as the art collective, called KUT (Kunst Uitschot Team), by illegally placing large wooden sculptures in the Leiden region.
=== Plastic Soup Surfer ===
As a passionate kitesurfer, Tinga became annoyed by the plastic litter he encountered in the sea. He decided to combine art and activism and the Plastic Soup Surfer was born. In 2014 he created a surfboard made of plastic litter and kiteboarded 350 km along the Dutch and Belgian coast to raise awareness of the plastic soup problem.
In the summer of 2015, he spent five months sailing along the coast of Scandinavia, 'hunting' for plastic waste. During this trip he realized that cleaning up plastic waste does not solve the plastic soup problem and that the solution lies in the reduction of products that cause plastic litter.
=== Campaigns for the introduction of deposit fees for small plastic bottles ===
Tinga first focused on the introduction of deposit fees on small plastic bottles and cans in the Netherlands. In the period 2016-2020, Tinga, as the Plastic Soup Surfer, campaigned for this goal.
==== North Sea crossing and motion ====
On September 2nd, 2016, in an attempt to enter the Guiness Book of Records (with the entry of first North Sea crossing by foil kite), Tinga surfed from Scheveningen, the Netherlands, across the North Sea to Lowestoft, England on a foilboard made of plastic littered bottles. With this trip, he drew attention to a petition for a deposit fee on small plastic bottles. The crossing was successful, however, due to a sudden temporary calm in the wind off the coast of England, Tinga just missed the record. Partially due to all the attention for the record attempt, Tinga was able to collect 57,000 signatures for the petition, which was presented in the Dutch House of Representatives on February 14th, 2017. Tinga also had the attending Members of Parliament sign a motion written by himself. This Plastic Soup Surfer Petition Motion called for 90% less plastic litter bottles within three years. Two days later the motion was adopted by the Dutch Government.
Eelke Dekker made the documentary Message on a bottle about this North Sea crossing and the petition motion.
A year later the Plastic Soup Surfer petition motion was used by Dutch State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven for the Ministry's 'two-track policy' according to which deposit fees were to be introduced, unless the business community was able to achieve a 70% reduction in littered bottles through other means.
==== Rhine SUP tour From Source to Sea ====
The next expedition in 2017 was a standup paddle trip on the Rhine, from the source to the sea, on a SUP board made of littered bottles. As the Plastic Soup Surfer, Tinga covered the journey of over 1000 km in 28 days. The aim of this campaign was to speak with CEO's of companies that were blocking the introduction of deposit fees in the Netherlands. During the trip he collected the waste he found in the Rhine or along the banks.
==== Bailiff and an judicial notice ====
In order to hold the manufacturers and retailers accountable for the plastic litter and to get them to come up with solutions, Tinga developed a new strategy: using a bailiff with a judicial notice. This legal instrument is a 'declaration of awareness' by which companies are formally informed of the pollution, dangers and consequences of the litter as a result of their products or packaging. From the moment that a judicial notice is handed over to the CEO, a company is no longer able to claim to be unaware of these facts.
After the SUP expedition down the Rhine, Tinga approached the CEO's of companies that either produced or sold products of which he had collected plastic litter along the way. This way he was able to meet with the CEO's of big Dutch retailers and soft drink manufacturers such as Coca Cola, Pepsico and Heineken.
Eelke Dekker made a documentary about this Rhine expedition, called From Source to Sea (2018). This documentary was broadcasted by National Geographic and was shown in the Dutch House of Representatives.
==== First 3D printed windsurfboard made of plastic waste ====
In the summer of 2018, Tinga made a windsurf trip on the first ever printed windsurf board. On this foil-windsurf board he surfed from Le Havre, France, to Scheveningen, the Netherlands The aim of this expedition was to again draw attention to the problem of plastic waste and deposits as one of the solutions.
==== Introduction of deposits for small plastic bottles and cans ====
In 2020, it became clear that the business community was unable to reduce plastic litter in the Netherlands by 70% within three years. Therefore State Secretary Van Veldhoven decided to introduce a deposit fee on small plastic bottles as of July 2021. And, in 2021, she also decided to introduce a deposit on cans as of 31st of December 2022.
=== Removing plastic polluting products from shops ===
==== Cooperation with Dirk Groot and Plastic Soup Surfer ====
From 2018 onwards, Tinga also took another approach to combat plastic pollution resulting from disposable products. This was by collecting photos of litter as evidence of the pollution and approaching the manufacturers or retailers together a bailiff to get them to come up with solutions. He did this in cooperation with Dirk Groot, who, by the name of Zwerfinator, fights against litter.
==== Anta Flu, fireworks with plastic, splashplastic and plastic confetti ====
In 2018, Groot and Tinga targeted Pervasco, the manufacturer of Anta Flu throat lozenges. Within a year, Groot collected 16,000 photos of wrappers of throat lozenges. Groot and Tinga approached the CEO of Pervasco, together with a bailiff who handed him a judicial notice. In their initial conversation, Pervasco's CEO pledged to make the wrappers out of biodegradable material [wikilink] and in 2020 Pervasco in fact switched to paper wrappers.
At the end of 2019, Tinga and Groot focused on Crackling Balls, light fireworks which is sold all year round. After being lit, the plastic shards are left in the environment most of the times. Tinga and Groot collected thousands of photos of these shards and, in cooperation with the Leiden Advocacy Project on Plastic (LAPP) of Leiden University, prepared a lawsuit against the retailers of these fireworks in November 2019. A few weeks later most of the retailers stopped selling Crackling Balls. As a result, the grounds on which the lawsuit were based were no longer valid and therefore Tinga and Groot decided to draw up the Crackling Ball Covenant focusing on fireworks containing plastics. By signing this covenant, almost all retailers pledged to immediately stop the sale of Crackling Balls and of fireworks containing plastics as of January 1st 2021.
In addition, in 2020, Tinga and Groot, by means of presenting photos they had collected, succeeded in convincing shops to stop selling plastic balloons filled with water (splash plastic) as well as plastic confetti.
==== Mars candy wrappers ====
In the spring of 2021, Groot and Tinga focused on candy wrappers made by Mars Incorporated (amongst others Mars, Bounty, Snickers, M&M's, Balisto, Twix and Milky Way), which are often found as litter on the streets and in the environment. Within a few months they collected more than 15,000 photos of these wrappers with the app. On May 1st 2021, Mars stated on Dutch Television it did not intend to switch to biodegradable candy wrappers, but promised to come up with a solution for the litter before 2025.
=== The Plastic Avengers Manifest ===
In 2019, Tinga organised a conference for all Dutch actors in the field of plastic. Both NGO's working on plastic issues and individual plastic activists, as well as opinion-formers and policy makers were present during the conference. The aim of the conference was to unite the opponents of plastic waste behind a common agenda to tackle plastic problems. During the conference, over 100 Plastic Avengers drafted the Plastic Avengers Manifest, a framework for a new way of dealing with plastic. In 2019, Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr. Frans Timmermans, became an official ambassador of this Manifest.https://www.meerlanden.nl/algemeen-nieuws/eurocommissaris-frans-timmermans-neemt-plastic-avengers-manifest-ontvangst
=== Waste separation ===
In 2020, the year of COVID-19, Tinga focused on waste separation, especially in schools. He organised the Bright Binners tour. As the Plastic Soup Surfer he supped through the Netherlands, from Maastricht to island of Schiermonnikoog, a trip of 550 km. Along the way, he visited primary schools. Pupils approached their town's mayor pledging for waste separation at schools. As waste at schools is categorised as commercial waste, separation of waste is usually too expensive for schools. To remove this barrier, Tinga consulted with all Dutch stakeholders in the field of waste separation. All of them supported Tinga's Bright Binners Manifest supporting the separation of waste at schools, except the packaging industry that refused to cooperate.
Subsequently, two Members of Parliament submitted a motion to ensure that, within four years, waste at all primary schools in the Netherlands can be collected and processed separately at no additional cost, with separate streams for fruit, vegetable, garden waste, plastic, metal and beverage packaging, and paper/cardboard waste. This motion was passed by the House of Representatives on February 25th 2021.
== Bibliography ==
Merijn Tinga, Plastic Soup Surfer. Hoe één persoon verschil kan maken. Uitg. Hollandia 2021. ISBN 9789064107252
== Filmography ==
Eelke Dekker: Message on a bottle (2016).  About Merijn Tinga's North Sea crossing on a kite foil. The documentary was premiered in Omniversum, The Hague, the Netherlands, and broadcasted at Omroep West (regional TV).
Eelke Dekker:  From Source to Sea (2018). About Merijn Tinga's SUP tour down the river Rhine. The film premiered in Pathe cinema and was broadcasted several times by National Geographic and screened at film festival.
Eelke Dekker: Plastic Paradox (2019). Documentary about the 2017 Rhine SUP tour and the Plastic Avengers Conference. This documentary was broadcasted by National Geographic.
Category:1972 births 
Category:Dutch artists
Category:Dutch environmentalists