As well as being ready to save lives at sea, Cowes RNLI lifeboat station is also now set to play its part in saving the planet – by cutting down on plastic.
Rather than using hundreds of disposable plastic water bottles through the year, the lifeboat crew members will in future be drinking tap water from reusable environmentally friendly water bottles.
The change, suggested by boathouse manager Dave Davies, has been readily adopted by everyone at the station – both crew and onshore members.
Mark Southwell, Operations Manager for Cowes RNLI has said:
“Apparently over 480 billion plastic drinking bottles were sold across the world in just one year. Many of these will either end up in the sea, causing major environmental problems, or in landfill.
“Our crew members generally take water with them when on exercise or a ‘shout’, especially during the warm weather. Although they never throw anything overboard, they still have to end up in landfill.”
In future the only plastic bottles carried aboard the Atlantic 85 lifeboat ‘Sheena Louise’ will be reserved for rescued casualties.
