What a year. What an impact.
John, this is your doing! Every protest, paddle-out, clean-up, email sent and voice raised helped power our movement. In our 35th year, you stood shoulder to shoulder to challenge profiteering polluters, take on plastic and sewage pollution, and demand real change.
From grassroots action to national pressure, this people-powered movement has never been stronger. Together, we proved that when our community shows up, decision-makers have to listen.
Here’s what you helped make happen in 2025 👇
#EndSewagePollution - in numbers:
📩 11,965 people emailed their MP, MS, MSP or MLA using our email tool to demand an end to sewage pollution.
🌊 44 Paddle-Out Protests took place across the UK in 2025, making this the largest nationwide mobilisation of supporters on sewage pollution to date.
✍️ 28,458 responses to our survey with 38 degrees, which provided an accessible way for the public to have their say in the Independent Water Commission’s public call for evidence.
📢 Countless calls to Sir Jon Cunliffe to influence his review into the failing water industry in England and Wales. We attended roundtables with the man himself, and ran our #DearJon campaign to platform the voices of water users.
💩 Our Water Quality Report revealed 4.7 million hours of sewage was dumped into UK waters in 2024, all while privatised water companies paid shareholders £1.2 billion.
✊ We led a coalition of 36 organisations to produce an open letter to the government demanding bold action to end the ‘profit-driven sewage scandal’, ahead of the Water Commission’s final report.
🤝 One visit to No 10 Downing Street to meet with Prime Ministers Advisors and set out public support for transformation of the water industry, along with our friends at River Action.
🏊 A 200km, non-stop relay down the Thames as 8 elite swimmers from all four nations brought the sewage scandal to Parliament's doorstep - all captured in an epic film.
The People vs Plastic - in numbers:
📢 18 People vs Plastic protests took place across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, including 500 people joining the ‘Human Chain’ protest in Penzance.
✊ 2,121 pupils took part in 23 Trash Mobs during our week of action - with 169 Trash Mobs taking place over the whole year - helping to remove plastic pollution from schools.
🤯 More than 130,000 people have taken part in Million Mile Cleans this year, with an average of 20 cleans taking place everyday across the UK.
📈 1,922 Million Mile Cleans have submitted data since the start of the year, making 2025 a record-breaking year for plastic pollution data collection.
🌍 Worked with countless communities to demand action on plastic pollution - taking their voices to the Global Plastics Treaty talks in Geneva and continuing to pressure the UK government to tackle the problem at its source.
Community action - in numbers:
🤽 £315,000 ocean-saving funds raised by 5,799 amazing people who signed up to the Dip A Day in October challenge this year.
💦 14 new bathing water applications were supported by SAS in 2025 (including our first Scottish application!) to help more communities get their local waterways protected from pollution.
🥤 200+ Plastic Free Champions and 19 new councils have removed thousands of single-use items from their operations, stopping plastic pollution at source.
💪 469 impactful SAS actions were delivered by volunteer regional reps in 2025 across 14 regions in the UK.
🧑🏫 26,815 pupils across 225 schools tuned in for our Pupil Power Assembly on ‘Art for Activism’, marking it our biggest yet.
🏫 200+ schools progressed through the Plastic Free Schools programme in 2025, creating real impact in their classrooms and communities.
Thank you for everything, John. We hope you have a very well-deserved relaxing and festive break!
It’s for the ocean 🌊
Team SAS
P.S. Keep your eyes peeled for some exciting things coming in the new year!
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