Rowing across the Atlantic Ocean gave Kate Salmon a shocking glimpse of the scale of plastic pollution. Back on dry land, her crew were determined to do something about the problem. She explains how getting a city to take responsibility for its plastic consumption can bring people together.

Kate Salmon is an applied scientist at the Met Office, where she uses weather and climate data to help decision-makers plan for climate change. She was part of Row for the Ocean, the fastest all-female team to finish the 2018 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. The crew set up Plastic Free Exeter, which aims to make Exeter the UK’s largest single-use ‘plastic-free’ city by 2020.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx