Daniel Clarke – 1st Place. "Little Grebe makes nest for chicks with single use plastic bags, crisp packets and polystyrene. River Lagan near Hillhall, Lisburn."
The Big Pointless Plastic Photography Competition
The Big Pointless Plastic Photography Competition was an opportunity for photographers, professional and amateur, to send Live Here Love Here a shocking snapshot of plastic pollution, whether that was spotted on our streets, roads, countryside, beaches, parks or rivers.
The competition was open to any resident of Northern Ireland who was aged 16 and above.
Three top cash prizes were available for the best entries: £500 for first place, £200 for second place and £100 for third place.
The winners
We send massive thanks to our fantastic winners for sharing their poignant pictures of plastic pollution and its disturbing impacts on our environment and wildlife.
Ernie Patterson – 2nd Place. "The photograph was taken on our farm near Killinchy. There are no towns or villages nearby but the balloons can travel for many miles before bursting and descending to earth where they are a potential hazard to livestock."
Jonathan Clarke – 3rd Place.
"Photo of a common blue butterfly on a plastic bottle wrapper neat the RSPB Window On Wildlife reserve on Airport Road West."
During judging, we also created a top ten for all photos that we received. We've included the locations for the shots and details on how you can get involved to look after these areas through our Adopt A Spot programme.
The rules
Entrants were permitted one entry and one photo as part of their submission, which asked for images that presented scenes of everyday pollution that arise from our over-reliance on single-use plastics.
What’s more, they were free to choose their preferred device, orientation and aspect ratio for their photo, so long as it contained at least one item of plastic and featured an area in Northern Ireland.
However, to ensure that all contestants were as committed to eliminating plastic pollution as Live Here Love Here, they were asked to make or update our Plastic Promise to enter the competition.
Contact
For any queries relating to The Big Pointless Plastic Photography Competition, please get in touch.