The Trash Isles: A Country Against Ocean Plastic

Advertisers are calling for the "Island of Garbage" to be recognized by the UN as a country. The objective of an award-winning campaign in Cannes is to alert to the growing rate of ocean pollution

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There is a campaign to make the Great Pacific Garbage Pool, an island of rubbish that already contains about 1.6 million square meters of debris and 79,000 tonnes of plastic, to officially become a country. The name of the new nation, which has applied for recognition at the UN, is The Thash Islands . They have an established territory, a flag, passport, coins and a population of over 200,000 people. The idea is to alert individuals and governments to the importance of rethinking our waste production, especially plastic.

The campaign was created by the advertising agency AMVBBDO, in partnership with the Plastic Oceans Foundation and with the LAD Bible and received the Cannes Lions Grand Prize for Design. Publicists Michael Hughes and Dalatando Almeida are responsible and the national symbols of the "Island of Garbage" were designed by designer Mario Kerkstra. His are the designs of the passport, the flag and the local currency, called “Debris” (an English word that can be translated as debris, garbage and/or waste).

Image: National symbols developed by Mario Kerkstra. Disclosure/The Trash Isles

The group launched its candidacy for official country at the UN in June of last year, on World Ocean Day, and, in September, it announced to the world its intention to The Trash Islands to become the 196th country in the world. According to the UN, to be recognized as an official country it must be a defined territory, a government, the ability to interact with other states and a population.

What the group wants most is to interact with other nations, as this is needed to speed up the cleanup of the oceans and decrease the amount of plastic waste dumped into the seas. As for the population, the first citizen was Al Gore, former US vice president, and actress Judi Dench is the queen. It is possible to participate in the undersigned to become a citizen of The Trash Islands , which represents their commitment and support for the reduction of ocean waste .

Worldwide, more than 220,000 people already support The Trash Islands . Among the distinguished citizens are British Olympian Mo Farah, naturalist David Attenborough and also Chris Hemsworth, Gal Gadot, Mark Ruffalo, Jeff Goldblum, Ezra Miller, Andy Serkis, Jason Momoa and Gerard Butler, among others.

The initiative's text cites the UN Environmental Charter as an argument for becoming an official country. the creators of The Trash Islands explain that “all members must cooperate in a spirit of global sharing to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem. Which, in a nutshell, means that when it becomes a country, other countries are forced to clean it up."

Image: Petition sent to the UN. Disclosure/The Trash Isles

the motto of The Thash Islands is "let's make sure the first country made of garbage is the last" (in free translation). The campaign was described by UN Secretary General's spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, as "an innovative and creative initiative to raise interest in an often overlooked issue". Despite this, he says the real chances of Garbage Island's approval as an official country are slim.