Origin story - Plastic Soup Surfer
Merijn Tinga
Merijn Tinga – Plastic Soup Surfer
Biologist, artist and campaigner fighting plastic pollution through adventure, citizen science and policy change
From frustration on the beach to an international movement
The story of the Plastic Soup Surfer began on the beach. Merijn Tinga – biologist, surfer and artist – was frustrated by the large amounts of plastic debris floating in the sea during his sessions. As a biologist, he understood the ecological and health impacts of plastic pollution. In 2014 he combined art, science and activism, building his first surfboard from plastic litter and kitesurfing 350 kilometers along the Dutch and Belgian coast to raise awareness of the growing plastic soup.
That expedition marked the birth of the Plastic Soup Surfer: an organisation that combines visibility, research and systemic change to tackle plastic pollution at the source.
From expeditions to systemic change
During a five-month sailing journey along the Scandinavian coast in 2015, Merijn and his family collected and studied marine litter. This experience made it clear that clean-ups alone are insufficient. The core problem lies in disposable products and packaging. From then on, the focus shifted to source reduction, policy change and producer responsibility.
Through expeditions across the North Sea, the Rhine River and Europe’s coastline, the Plastic Soup Surfer generated political momentum. A citizen petition with 60,000 signatures contributed to the introduction of deposit-return systems for small plastic bottles (2021) and cans (2023) in the Netherlands, widely recognized as a landmark case of effective citizen-driven policy change.
Legal and societal innovation
The Plastic Soup Surfer developed novel strategies to hold companies accountable, including the “formal notice” (Desbewustheidsexploot) a formal legal notification informing producers of the environmental impacts of their products. Through citizen science, tens of thousands of litter photos were collected, leading to the removal of products such as plastic confetti, water balloons and plastic-containing fireworks from the market.
The Plastic Avengers community
To mobilize citizens, policymakers and designers, the Plastic Avengers App was created. The app enables people to document litter and use the data in research and campaigns. Around this community, the organization hosts conferences, events and a monthly podcast focused on transforming packaging systems, policy frameworks and consumer behavior.
Since 2019, three live Plastic Avengers Conferences and one international online edition have been organized, bringing together stakeholders from science, policy, industry and civil society. The Plastic Avengers Manifesto provides a framework for a new relationship with plastic.
International surf campaigns and sea diplomacy
The expeditions have evolved into international campaigns where sport, storytelling and diplomacy converge. Merijn windsurfs on boards made from recycled plastics and litter, meeting ministers, mayors, CEOs and international institutions along the way. His ongoing Oslo–Rome expedition (2023–2026) connects Northern and Southern Europe in a call for deposit systems and reuse. In 2026, a meeting with Pope Leo XIV is planned to highlight the moral and societal urgency of plastic pollution.
Three strategic pillars
Today, the Plastic Soup Surfer organization operates through three strategic pillars:
- Research and advocacy
Scientific research on litter risk, packaging design and policy instruments, combined with targeted advocacy toward governments, companies and international institutions. - Community and citizen science
A growing network of Plastic Avengers collecting data via the app, supporting campaigns and contributing to public awareness and policy change. - International surf campaigns
Expeditions as catalysts for media attention, storytelling and diplomacy, translating encounters with leaders and institutions into tangible systemic change.
Publications and media
Merijn Tinga authored two books (in Dutch): Plastic Soup Surfer – How One Person Can Make a Difference (2021) and Against the Current (2025). Multiple documentaries have been broadcast internationally, including on National Geographic. A monthly podcast connects the community, researchers and policymakers.
From individual to organization
What started with one surfer on a polluted beach has grown into an international organization combining research, advocacy, citizen science and expeditions. The Plastic Soup Surfer works toward a future in which packaging is designed with llitterrisk in mind, reuse is the norm, producers take responsibility, and plastic pollution is stopped at the source.
Merijn Tinga (Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, 1972) is a Dutch biologist, kitesurfer and environmental activist. He is married, has two childeren and lives and workes in Leiden (Netherlands).
Short biography
Merijn Tinga (born 1972) is a Dutch biologist, artist and environmental campaigner known as the Plastic Soup Surfer. Through long-distance windsurfing expeditions on boards made from plastic waste, citizen science projects and public campaigns, he works to reduce plastic pollution and accelerate systemic change.
His campaigns combine storytelling, scientific research and political advocacy. He is known for helping put plastic litter and deposit return systems on the political agenda in the Netherlands. His work focuses not only on cleaning up pollution, but on preventing waste through better product design, legislation and circular solutions.
Who is the Plastic Soup Surfer?
The Plastic Soup Surfer is the public identity of Merijn Tinga, a Dutch biologist and artist who uses adventure and endurance expeditions to draw attention to plastic pollution.
Rather than accepting plastic waste as an individual consumer problem, Tinga focuses on changing the systems that create waste: packaging design, producer responsibility, legislation and circular economy solutions.
His approach combines:
- expedition-based storytelling;
- scientific research;
- citizen science;
- public campaigning;
- political lobbying;
- art and communication.
Background
Merijn Tinga studied biology and previously worked in healthcare before focusing full-time on environmental campaigns.
His background as a biologist, surfer and artist shaped his approach: using personal challenges and visual storytelling to make complex environmental problems understandable and actionable.
In 2013 he started building surfboards from plastic waste and became known as the Plastic Soup Surfer.
Major campaigns and expeditions
Plastic Soup Surfer – first campaign 2014
Tinga - an avid kitesurfer and part-time sculptor, began creating a surfboard from plastic litter found on his local surfbeach to demonstrate how much plastic washed up on the Dutch beaches. By kitesurfing this board he wanted draw attention to this fact.
His early campaigns focused on raising awareness about plastic pollution in rivers, seas and public spaces but in the campaigns after shifted to policy change, companies and solutions at the source.
North Sea crossing and DRS – 2016
In 2016, Tinga crossed the North Sea on a windsurfboard made partly from recycled plastic waste. It was the kick-start to a petition to call for the introduction of DRS on small plastic bottles in the Netherlands.
The expedition collected more than 60,000 signatures calling for action against plastic pollution. He wrote a political resolution himself for the introduction of deposit return scheme (DRS) for small plastic bottles - and had parliament members sign this. This so called 'Plastic Soup Surfer Resolution' got adopted by cabinet two days later without vote and was the political breakthrough that laid the basis for the DRS policy.
The campaign helped increase political attention for plastic litter and waste prevention in the Netherlands.
Deposit Return Scheme campaign (statiegeld)
One of Tinga’s best-known campaigns focused on introducing a deposit return system for small plastic bottles and cans in the Netherlands.
Through public campaigns, petitions, political lobbying and citizen engagement, the Plastic Soup Surfer helped build support for expanding the Dutch deposit system.
The Netherlands introduced:
- deposits on small plastic bottles in 2021;
- deposits on cans in 2023.
Following introduction, litter monitoring showed a major decline in plastic bottles and cans found in public spaces.
Citizen science and research
The Plastic Soup Surfer develops citizen science campaigns to collect data on plastic pollution.
Plastic Avengers app
Together with partners like Dirk Groot the Zwerfinator, Tinga developed methods for citizens to document litter through photography and data collection.
Collected data is used to influence policy or confront companies.
Operation campaigns
Examples include:
Operatie Zuigzak (Drink pouch research)
A citizen science investigation into drink pouches found in Dutch litter.
Key findings:
- tens of thousands of observations collected;
- drink pouches increased significantly in litter;
- packaging design and producer responsibility became central questions.
Operatie Bakzeil
Research into disposable food containers and takeaway packaging.
The campaign examined how the growth of takeaway culture contributes to litter.
Operatie Overload
Research into overflowing public bins as a source of litter.
The campaign investigated how waste infrastructure influences litter pollution.
LitterRisk / Afdankurgentie
Current research focuses on a new approach: designing products to prevent litter before it happens.
Together with researchers from TU Delft and Leiden University, Tinga investigates how packaging design influences the likelihood that products become litter.
The concept of disposal urgency describes the moment when a product changes from useful object into unwanted waste.
The goal is to develop design principles that reduce litter risk at the source.
International expeditions
Rhine source – Rhine rivermouth Rotterdam (2017)
A third expedition connected the river pollution to the ocean. Paddling from source to sea (1250km) to show that the plastic pollution problem does not start in the ocean or even the river: it starts on land and solutions should thus be found on land: at the source.
During this expedition Tinga fished plastic bottles from the river Rhine which - using a bailliff - he returned to the 'owners' - the brands and the company CEO's. In the Netherlands he confronted the CEO's and managing directors of ten companies pushing back on DRS implementation: like the CEOs of Heineken, Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola and the supermarket chains like Albert Heijn, Lidl, Aldi and Jumbo.
Le Havre - Scheveningen (2018)
Tinga's fourth expedition was a failure. He 3d printed a foil windsurfing board - which was far to heavy.
The objective was to windsurf 700km from Le Havre (France) to Scheveningen (Netherlands) for the kick off to World Cleanup Day and a launch to a litterpicking app. The conditions were unfavourable and Tinga never made it.
Brussels–Amsterdam (2022)
To promote reuse Tinga e-foiled from Brussels to Amsterdam (375km) - the distance similar to the amount of disposable cups being thrown in the trash each morning if the were to be lined up.
A film was made 'surfer TO GO' and along the route there were meetings with mayors, activists and Frans Timmermans the Vice president of the European Union and driving force behind the EU Single Use Plastics regulations.
Oslo–London (2023)
Tinga windsurfed from Oslo to London (1800km), carrying the message that DRS reduces littering of effected beverage containers by 80%.
The expedition connected communities, scientists along the route and finished in Westminster - where still in wetsuit- he handed policymakers a letter co-signed by all the important UK NGO's to speed up the introduction of DRS.
London–Paris (2024)
A second major expedition connected London and Paris (900km) through windsurfing and stand up paddling (320km against the current of the Seine to reach paris).
The campaign once again focused on DRS in France. He was welcomed by the mayor of Paris (Anne Hidalgo) in Paris two weeks before the start of the Paris Olympics. The mayor assisted in the conference on DRS that brought together all the French stakeholders.
Paris–Nice (2025)
The expedition continued towards the UN Ocean Conference in Nice (stand up paddling 1250km through France), linking plastic pollution with broader ocean protection.
Nice–Rome (2026)
The Nice–Rome expedition focused on Italy and the Vatican as a crowbar to speed up introduction in Italy.
In Monaco he met Prince Albert II and the journey ended in Rome, where Tinga presented his message and solutions in Italian parliament and was granted a private audience with Pope Leo XIV (normally only granted to state leaders)
Planning: Venice–Tirana-Athens-Istanbul (2027-2028)
He is planning to continue his DRS campaign in the Mediterannean by windsurfing from Venice to Istanbul in 2027 and 2028.
Art and storytelling
Alongside and before his environmental campaigns, Merijn Tinga created sculptures and visual stories.
His work explored the relationship between humans, consumption and the environment.
He is was the co-founder of the Leiden-based artists collective:
Kunst Uitschot Team (K.U.T.)
K.U.T. created public artworks in Leiden combining craftsmanship, humour and social commentary. It was guerilla art as they erected their sculptures in and around the city of Leiden illegaly. Many were adopted by the community though.
The collective's work influenced Tinga's later approach to activism: using public interventions and storytelling to challenge accepted ideas.
Tinga learned to carve wood during as a student during his masters thesis (1995) in Togo (West Africa) doing research on intestinal parasites.
Cycling to Marocco (2000)
After graduating as a biologist he became a high school teacher. After 3 years he quit his job and cycled to Essaouira 4000km - with a kitesurfboard behind his bike - to learn to kitesurf. On the Maroccan beach he decided he wanted to become a visual artist - and he cycled back to the Netherlands where soon after he would co-found the art collective Kunst Uitschot Team
Books
Tegen de stroom in
Merijn Tinga wrote two books:
(2021) Plastic Soup Surfer - hoe een persoon verschil kan maken (how one person can make a difference), a book about plastic, the expeditions, who change comes about and practical tips to reduce plastic use.
(2025) Tegen de stroom in (against the current), a book about perseverance, activism and the importance of acting despite resistance.
The book uses his expeditions as a metaphor for social change: progress requires people willing to move against the current.
Podcast
Trash Talk
Merijn Tinga hosts the podcast Trash Talk, discussing plastic pollution, waste prevention, circular economy and solutions with scientists, activists, policymakers and entrepreneurs.
Documentaries
- Message on a bottle (12min director Eelke Dekker 2016)
-
Plastik überall - Geschichten vom Müll (TV Movie Director Albert Knechtel 2018)
- From Source to Sea (50min director Eelke Dekker 2017 - broadcast by National Geographic)
- Wakkere Wegwerpers (50min director Victor Kaiser Bots)
- Surfer To Go (38min directors Eelke Dekker and Jaspers Strik 2022)
- Against the Current (32 min director Jasper Strik 2025 - premiered at the Leiden Film Festival)
The most recent documentary Against the Current follows Merijn Tinga’s expedition from Paris to Nice, exploring the relationship between personal action, activism and systemic change.
Current focus
The Plastic Soup Surfer currently focuses on:
- reducing plastic pollution through policy change;
- expanding deposit return systems internationally;
- preventing litter through better design;
- citizen science and data-driven campaigning;
- inspiring people to move from frustration to action.
Key message
"The problem is not that people don't care. The challenge is building systems that make the right choice the easy choice."
Contact
Merijn Tinga
Plastic Soup Surfer
Plastic Free Sea Foundation
PlasticSoupSurfer.org / Litterrisk.org / PlasticAvengers.org
Info (at) plasticsoupsurfer.org
Instagram: @plasticsoupsurfer
facebook page: @plasticsoupsurfer
Linkedin: @merijntinga @plasticsoupsurferorganisation
Map of expeditions
See all the expeditions on the map (until 2023).