ASK AN ECO ACTIVIST
This month
Emily Penn, sailor at the helm of an all-female crusade against plastic
IS PLASTIC POLLUTION A WOMEN’S ISSUE?
Well, of course it affects everyone but my interest has been the impact on women’s health. Ten years ago, I was running a research organisation helping scientists collect data about plastic pollution. When we discovered plastic inside fish – and realised it was entering the human food chain – I decided to have my own blood tested for chemicals used in plastic production. There were 29 in my body, including flame retardants, which are ‘endocrine disruptors’ that can affect female hormone production and fertility.
HENCE YOUR ALL-FEMALE CRUSADE?
Yes, in 2014 I co-founded exxpedition, to enlist other women to help save our seas from pollution. It’s a not-for-profit organisation. We run global sailing expeditions to gather data on ocean plastic.
WHO’S IN THE CREW?
Thousands of women apply, which means we always have an interesting mix. We’ve had everyone from yoga teachers and artists to police officers and engineers. Many have never set foot on a boat before. It’s amazing to witness them take the helm of our 72ft yacht and guide us through the waves.
ALL NOVICES! DOES THAT WORK?
There’s always a professional sailing team on board, too, but everyone gets stuck in – hoisting sails, cooking, cleaning and doing the night watch. Some voyages are wet and cold, others are hot and sometimes the weather is rough. So life on board can be physically and emotionally challenging. We get to know each other well!
WHERE HAVE YOU SAILED?
All over the world. Most recently, I set the challenge of circumnavigating the globe – covering 38,000 miles over three years – with a rotating ‘guest crew’ of 300 women. We visit ocean gyres. They’re often thought of as ‘islands’ of plastic, but it’s more like a ‘fine soup’ of microplastic particles. We use nets to gather samples from the surface – and bottles to collect them from deeper water. Our research partners at the University of Plymouth will analyse these samples to work out the most common polymer types.
IS IT ALL FLOATING SHOPPING BAGS?
To our surprise, we found some tyre fragments, which is mostly plastic. And, of course, food packaging – like fragments of bottle tops. Sadly, it’s set to get worse: there are five trillion fragments of plastic floating in the ocean – and more than eight million tonnes find their way there every year. That’s the equivalent of five grocery bags full of plastic per foot of coastline.
HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN A SAILOR?
I grew up in South Wales and have sailed since my teens. But I actually trained as an architect, focusing on sustainable building. When I graduated in 2008, I was offered an architecture job in Australia and decided to hitch a ride there on a biofuel boat. The mass of plastic I witnessed in the water completely changed my outlook. In fact, I never did start that job. I qualified as a skipper so I could support scientists doing research at sea.
HAS COVID LEFT YOU HIGH AND DRY?
In March 2020, when the pandemic hit, we were in the South Pacific on leg eight of our round-the-world voyage. We made our way to Tahiti and caught the final flight back. Since then, I’ve been based in Richmond, hosting ‘virtual voyages’ to places such as Fiji and Australia, so my crew can learn about plastic from home. I also launched the SHIFT Platform (shift.how) to help people find their role in solving plastic pollution. There’s no silver bullet – but there are many ways to tackle the crisis and we all have a part to play.