Plastic Beaches

Plastic Problem On Beaches

Plastic Bags, Butts And Bottles Blight Britain’s Beautiful Beaches More Than Ever Before!

10th april 2008

The amount of plastic littering Britain’s beautiful beaches is at its highest level since records began, according to the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Beachwatch 2007 survey report published today. The MCS Beachwatch 2007 Report shows that plastic litter on our beaches has increased by a staggering 126% since the annual survey began in 1994. Plastic debris now accounts for over 58% of all litter found on UK beaches, including plastic bags and plastic drinks bottles. Plastic-based cigarette butts are also amongst the most frequently encountered litter items.

Sadly, the tide of plastic litter is not just an unsightly blight on Britain’s magnificent coastline. Over 170 species of marine wildlife including seabirds, turtles and whales have been recorded mistaking marine litter for food resulting in starvation, poisoning and fatal stomach blockages. In addition, plastic packaging and discarded fishing nets injure, entangle and drown some of Britain’s favourite marine wildlife, including seals and dolphins.

“The results are truly shocking, in the last 10 years plastic drinks bottles have increased by 67%, plastic bags by 54% and cigarette butts by 44%. Plastics are of particular concern as they could persist in the marine environment for centuries with fatal consequences for marine wildlife,” said Emma Snowden, MCS Litter Projects Coordinator, “The Marine Conservation Society’s Beachwatch volunteers remove tons of litter from beaches, and using the survey data they collect, MCS is raising awareness about this serious situation and the solutions. The plastic litter problem needs to be tackled at all levels, from grassroots through to Government, while industry and retail sectors must acknowledge the need to reduce plastic bag use and packaging”.

The MCS Beachwatch 2007 Report is based on data collected by almost 4,000 volunteers on 354 UK beaches surveyed in mid-September 2007. Volunteers surveyed 168.5km of coast and removed over 346,000 litter items. This latest report identifies four key sources of beach litter – recreational & beach visitors (35.3%), fishing litter (13.7%), sewage related debris/sanitary waste (6.1%) and shipping litter (1.8%). The average density of UK beach litter in the MCS Beachwatch 2007 survey was 2,054 items of litter per kilometre – an average of two items for every metre stretch of beach! While MCS lobbies for a national strategy to tackle this extraordinary volume of rubbish washing up on our beaches, it also encourages individual responsibility for litter disposal.

“Everyone can help prevent some of the most common plastic items littering our beaches and seas by reducing their use,“ Emma Snowden continues, “By taking simple steps such as taking re-usable bags to the supermarket, re-filling plastic bottles with good old-fashioned tap water, and disposing of litter responsibly, including cigarette butts, we can all make a difference”.

The full MCS Beachwatch 2007 results can be downloaded at www.adoptabeach.org.uk. In addition to Beachwatch, MCS also promotes the “Go Plastic Bag Free” initiative and currently has over 70 towns and communities in the UK signed up to the campaign. Information about other MCS litter campaigns, including the highly successful “Don’t Let Go!” campaign which promotes wildlife-friendly use of balloons can be found at www.adoptabeach.org.uk>>further action>>litter campaigns.

MCS is extremely grateful to The Crown Estate for funding the litter projects, and MCS Beachwatch is an excellent example of The Crown Estate and the Marine Conservation Society working together for the eighth consecutive year to raise public awareness of marine pollution and encourage participation at a local level.

Dr Carolyn Heeps, Head of Marine Policy and Sustainable Development at the Crown Estate says, “Beachwatch and its thousands of volunteers continues to highlight the increasing problem of litter on Britain’s beaches. We know that individual action is the answer to a large part of the problem so we hope that everyone will take notice of the Marine Conservation Society’s report and will act responsibly to keep Britain’s beaches beautiful and free of litter.”

The Marine Conservation Society works in cooperation with the Project AWARE Foundation to organise underwater cleanup events. The data from MCS Beachwatch surveys also contributes to the International Coastal Cleanup, involving over 70 countries worldwide, organised by the Ocean Conservancy in the United States. MCS would like to thank all of the volunteers that participated in Beachwatch 2007, without whose hard work and dedication the Beachwatch survey would not be possible