Cape Town - Recovering more plastic than it releases into the world, alcoholic beverage Corona has achieved a net zero plastic footprint globally, and celebrated the milestone with Corona Studios’ new short format series Protect Paradise.
The series follows Cape Town professional surfer and founder of NPO Sentinel Ocean Alliance Frank Solomon, as he travelled down South Africa’s (SA) coast to meet local heroes attempting to find solutions to SA’s marine plastic pollution and protect the country’s coastal paradise. The series premiered on YouTube this World Oceans Day.
“Our entire existence depends on the health of the ocean and, with Protect Paradise, I’m humbled to be able to share these stories while we can still do something about the problem. I know that viewers will be surprised by the creativity, impact, and entertainment value of the series,” said Solomon.
Corona Africa Global brands director Marsha Kumire said the beach-born brand had a responsibility to be an ally of the environment and oceans, and also launched an augmented reality experience, Plastic Reality, which allowed people to view their annual plastic footprint.
“We need to create a culture of picking things up in SA and being responsible for our waste. We see people throwing things out their window, throwing things on the ground – as if it’s someone else's responsibility to pick it up,” said Soloman.
Solomon said the journey highlighted the massive pollution in beaches in the country, and local artist and ocean pollution activist Thirza Schaap (one of the local heroes featured in the series) showcased this with art created from plastic and other waste found on beaches.
“It was inspiring to see how normal citizens get up and do this work everyday, to raise awareness and try to stop marine plastic pollution,” said Solomon.
Solomon said small things like picking up trash in the street, using reusable shopping bags and coffee cups – instead of getting a new cup every time someone wants to buy a coffee – would make a huge difference in lessening plastic waste and ocean pollution.
The series can be found on Corona’s YouTube channel, while Plastic Reality can be found on the Corona website.
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