Use the “P for Plastic” Hand Signal

A group of Dutch divers, diving companies and the Plastic Soup Foundation are introducing a new hand signal for divers: the P for Plastic.

Every year, thousands of marine animals get caught in ocean plastic or mistake it for food, eat it, and die of starvation. The plastic soup damages and kills coral reefs. It’s a disaster for underwater life and a threat to what we love doing – diving! As divers, we are constantly confronted with the ongoing damaged state of the sea and the reefs. If nothing changes, by 2050 it’s been projected there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean.

Divers use underwater hand signals for squid, turtles, and sharks, but there has been none yet for the largest polluter in our ocean – plastic. A group of Dutch divers, diving companies, and the Plastic Soup Foundation have introduced a new hand signal for divers: “P for Plastic.” This signal can be used by divers underwater to let their buddies know that they see plastic and want to pick it up. The goal of this hand signal is to encourage divers around the world to spread awareness and take action against the plastic plague our ocean is facing.

Help spread the word!

• Download the hand signal image from the Plastic Soup Foundation website and share it with diving buddies and on social media. Use the hashtag #PforPlastic.
• Print the poster and hang it at your dive center. The more people see it, the bigger the impact!
• Use the hand signal GIF, teach it, and show that you care about the oceans.
• Follow the Plastic Soup Foundation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin and post your underwater signaling photos. Use hashtags #diversfortheocean, #PlasticScubaSignal, #usetheP, #pickupplastic

Find more information about what you as a diver, dive school or diving company can do to stop plastic pollution here: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/divers.

The initiators
This hand signal is an initiative of a wide group of Dutch diving companies (including a dive travel agent, dive school, gear supplier and a media platform), amateur divers and the Plastic Soup Foundation. The Plastic Soup Foundation’s mission is to have “No plastic waste in our water!”.