Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

19th September 2013

Beachwatch Big Weekend is the Marine Conservation Society’s annual call to everyone to clean up our beaches! Running from 20th to 23rd September, Beachwatch Big Weekend supports individuals, groups and communities who care about the coast to get active in saving their shorelines. The weekend also sees the UK’s biggest survey on the health of our beaches. Last year nearly 240 beaches were cleaned and 3,500 volunteers took part. In total, 181,978 items of litter were picked up and 1,800 bin bags filled. Plastic was the biggest culprit.

Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

19th September 2013

Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

19th September 2013

Beach litter comes from different sources: 40.4% from the public; 13.9% fishing debris like nets, ropes and buoys; 4.5% sewage related debris (something to remember when you flush a cotton bud down the loo); 3.9% is rubbish from ships; 0.7% fly-tipped waste and 0.2% medical. Non-sourced waste, as in litter the MCS cannot identify, accounts for 36.3% of that found on beaches.

Some of our best-loved marine wildlife is under threat from the waste and litter in our seas, with hundreds of species accidentally eating or becoming entangled in litter. Litter on our beaches is also hazardous to people so we all have a part to play in turning the tide on litter.
To find out how you can get involved, register your interest on the Beachwatch Big Weekend website. Or find out about one of the beach cleaning or surveying events taking place near you here.

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