etheco founder Jason Hollingsworth reflects on joining hundreds of campaigners in Whitstable to protest against sewage pollution, and why collective action remains one of the most powerful ways to drive change
Why turning up still matters
There are moments when simply turning up matters. Joining more than 500 campaigners in Whitstable for the ‘End This Dirty Business’ march, organised by SOS Whitstable, was one of them. As someone who has lived in Herne Bay for many years, these waters are not abstract to me. They are part of daily life, part of our community, and part of what makes this stretch of coast so special.
The protest, led by singer-turned-environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey and local campaigner Chris Stanley, followed the seafront from Tankerton Lifeguard Hut to the Swalecliffe Wastewater Treatment Works, which is owned and operated by Southern Water.
A movement fuelled by frustration
It was inspired by the Channel 4 docudrama Dirty Business, which exposed the scale of sewage pollution affecting waterways across the country. I watched it recently and later wrote about it for etheco because it captured something many people already feel: frustration that something so valuable has been treated so carelessly. I therefore felt very privileged to also meet Ash Smith and Peter Hammond, who were the main characters in the docudrama.
What struck me most on the day was the spirit of the crowd. Yes, people were angry, and rightly so, but there was warmth, humour and determination too. Some people came dressed as flies with homemade placards sarcastically extolling the virtues of excrement. Others arrived as swans carrying a banner reading ‘swans against sewage’. It was creative, good-natured and deeply human.
The power of collective action
That matters because real change often begins when ordinary people come together. We can sometimes feel that environmental problems are too large, or that our individual choices are too small to count. I don’t believe that. Every thoughtful decision helps, whether that is supporting ethical businesses, asking better questions, or showing up when it counts.
But collective action has its own special power. When communities unite, companies and decision-makers are forced to listen. History shows that public pressure can move issues from the margins to the mainstream.
At etheco, we believe business should serve people and planet, not the other way around. Sewage pollution is a reminder of what happens when accountability is lost.
Leaving the march, I felt hopeful. Not because the problem is solved, but because so many people care enough to stand together. And when people come together with purpose, change becomes possible.
Take action
Find out more about the SOS Whitstable protest
Sign this petition to bring water back into public ownership