Ordinarily, dropping sewage on a politician’s desk would get you arrested. But you now have the chance to do so for a good cause.
The Dirty Protest petition – launched Thursday (22 February) by an alliance of ocean advocacy charities – invites people to “sign their names with shit” to protect the sea from sewage pollution.
When the petition reaches a million signatures, it will be printed using a specially designed ink that features 50% sewage from drain pipes. Then, it will be delivered to the European Parliament.
Pernille Weiss, member of the European Parliament and chairwoman of the Water Group, was the first person to sign.
“I signed my name in shit to stop untreated sewage from being pumped into our ocean,” she said. “I need all of you to sign, so we can show every politician that this problem is too big and too important to be ignored.”
How big of a problem is sewage pollution?
Some 80% of the world’s sewage is dumped untreated into our oceans. It suffocates the ecosystem and causes serious illness to swimmers who come into contact with it.