MacGlide Festival of Sails has teamed up with leading sustainability and innovation company Joco, to help raise awareness about reducing plastic waste and how small changes in our daily habits impact our environment.
Founded in Torquay in 2008, Joco creates eco-innovative, reusable drinking cups which are 100 per cent plastic free and designed for a lifetime of use. While the company remains proudly headquartered in Torquay, their range of Joco products is now available around the globe.
Joco founder and Torquay local, Matt Colegate, said the main aim of the partnership was to “ignite real and sustainable change within individuals. A true shift away from the disposable and plastic waste crisis”.
“Joco was founded in 2008 through personal protest against the amount of disposable and plastic waste that was being created in our day to day living,” he said. “We believe it is possible to experience life’s luxuries without compromising health or the natural environment. Joco creates eco-innovative products that empower the individual to refuse plastic and single use waste, all whilst enhancing their daily rituals.”
The MacGlide Festival of Sails starts tomorrow in Geelong and runs until Monday afternoon.
Mr Colegate said while plastic was once used for its convenience, it is now “known to be very inconvenient, impacting significantly on our health and environment in a variety of ways”.
“As individuals become more aware of the multi-faceted waste crisis, they are looking for real solutions that they can adopt into their everyday lives. The move away from single use and plastic in general is gaining momentum,” he said.
One million disposable cups are purchased every minute, with eight million plus tonnes of plastic entering our waters every year and 38,325 cups disposed of, by the average coffee drinker in their lifetime.
MacGlide Festival of Sails Chairman, Stuart Dickson said he was delighted to announce the partnership with Joco.
“The MacGlide Festival of Sails is committed to hosting a more environmentally friendly event which better protects our waters,” he said.
“In 2019 we achieved Silver Status in the ‘Sailors for the Sea’ Clean Regatta program which is focused on providing clean sailing regattas around the world. This year we are going for gold and we see our partnership with Joco as a strong reflection of our commitment to greater sustainability.”
As well as being a key partner for the 2020 MacGlide Festival of Sails, Joco has also come on-board as partners of the 49er World Championships, which are being held in Geelong next month.
The 300 skippers attending the MacGlide Festival of Sails will receive a free reusable Joco coffee cup in their ‘skipper pack’. And if every skipper has two coffees a day during the three-day regatta, using a Joco cup instead of a takeaway coffee cup, could save as many as 1800 disposable coffee cups from landfill.
Joco cups will also be available for purchase from the RGYC merchandise shop, inside the RGYC grounds. People using a Joco cup will also get a discount on their coffee at the Marina View Cafe.
Mr Colegate said the company always looked to partner with organisations that had similar values.
“We see events like the MacGlide Festival of Sails as powerful platforms for positive change and a great way to showcase the enjoyment that the natural environment can bring us and how we can easily experience these luxuries without taking a toll on our planet.”