Friday 11 May 2018 19:47, UK
Hector Bellerin says his love for the sea growing him up has made him passionate about protecting it and getting behind the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign.
The Arsenal star has told Sky Sports News that he has been cutting down on single-use plastics as much as possible for some time and wants his fellow players to do the same.
Bellerin says he was proud to see the Premier League join Sky Ocean Rescue last month, with Arsenal's rivals Tottenham leading the way by phasing-out single-use plastics from their new stadium on the old White Hart Lane site.
"I'm someone who has grown up next to the sea, in Barcelona," Bellerin said. "My home town is literally a fishing town up the coast of Barcelona. I have played beach football all my life and go for a swim, all my life while I've been there.
"While I was a kid I never knew about everything that was going on but lately, while all this stuff has been coming out, it has made me really sad.
"I love animals as well. It's been difficult and emotional to see loads of the stories of what's happening in our oceans. For me that's the thing I relate to the most. Loving the sea as a kid, I think treating it this way for so long, it's time we do something about it.
"When I saw the Premier League were getting involved in the cause it made me really happy and proud to be playing in a league that supports causes like this."
Bellerin, who said he will stay at Arsenal beyond the summer, hopes the rest of his team-mates and the club follow the campaign and do "the little things" that can make such a difference to the world's oceans.
"There is always a few ideas I want to propose - just doing little things in a club like Arsenal influences so many people. It can have such a big impact," he said.
"I have been doing it for quite a while now. I've started drinking canned water instead of bottled water. It's way easier to recycle. And at home, I have been using paper straws instead of plastic straws, and recycling, and trying to be as less plastic as we can.
"When we go to a takeaway place, if you can get things in paper bags, or go to the supermarket with your own bag - there are so many things you can do that sometimes, out of laziness, people don't think about.
"If everyone comes together the difference can be amazing. I think there's got to be an effort from everyone."
