Almost 2,000 people jumped into public pools of water across Belgium on Sunday to draw more attention to the need for clean water.
A total of 1,900 participants jumped into rivers, lakes and docks at 23 locations in Belgium as part of Big Jump, an international event in which thousands of European citizens take a leap into open water to call for better water quality.
"Despite the bad weather, the jump was able to go ahead at 23 locations, but five locations, unfortunately, had to cancel the Big Jump," said the organisation GoodPlanet, which was in charge of the event in Belgium.
The theme of the 19th edition of Big Jump was the topic of plastic pollution and microplastics (extremely small pieces of plastic debris which are harmful both to nature and people's health). The event organisers demanded quality, plastic-free water.
Big Jump in the Bonapartedok, near the MAS, in Antwerp. Credit: GoodPlanet
GoodPlanet noted that Belgium is still not meeting the 2000 European Water Quality Framework Directive (the main law for water protection in Europe which focuses on reducing and removing pollution).
While sewage treatment plants remove up to 97.5% of plastics from Belgian wastewater, 623 kg of microplastics still end up in rivers, without taking into account the waste that ends up directly in the country's rivers through littering.
Prior to the Antwerp Big Jump, River Cleanup also organised a litter campaign, during which it collected much as 97 kg of litter from the water.
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The organisation argued that the most effective solution is to tackle the issue at the source by producing and using less plastic, but that it is also important to continue with this specific action every year to keep this directive on the agenda.
"And we will continue to jump until our rivers and waterways are a truly rich and diverse habitat for biodiversity and free of toxic products," said GoodPlanet Director Jo Van Cauwenberge.
The action is also, in part, a call for more accessible places to swim. "We are pushing for more outdoor swimming places, not in swimming pools but in open water," said Sigrid Spruyt of Outdoor Swimming Belgium. "Today there are far too few of them in our country."
