Merijn Tinga

Merijn Tinga – The Plastic Soup Surfer. Kite- and windsurfer Merijn Tinga turns his passion for the water into yaction against plastic pollution. He kiteboarded across the North Sea on a foil board (180km) made from littered plastic bottles and windsurfed from Oslo to London (1800km), using each expedition to highlight the plastic crisis and sollutions. His activism helped achieve a political breakthrough, introducing a deposit return system for small plastic bottles in the Netherlands that cut litter by 80%. Merijn is also the author of two books and several documentaries chronicling his adventures can be found on YouTube

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About Merijn

Date of birth: October 31, 1972

Country: The Netherlands

Riding since: 1980

Primary sport: Windsurfing and kiteboarding

Home spot: Katwijk

Proud of milestones

Solo windsurfing from Oslo to London, London to Paris and supping from Paris to Nice.

Ultimate goals

My ultimate goal as an athlete is to use adventure on the water to inspire action against plastic pollution. Through daring expeditions, I want to demonstrate that persistence, creativity, and tenacity can make a real difference—and motivate others to take their own steps, proving that everyone can turn passion into impact.