The Marine Conservation Society’s annual Great British Beach Clean is returning for 2022, set to run this year from 16 – 25 September. The charity is calling for volunteers across the UK to join in the week of beach cleaning and litter surveying.
Each year during The Great British Beach Clean, volunteers not only remove litter from beaches but also make a note of the type litter they collect. The data is analysed by the charity and has been used to campaign for better protections to prevent plastic and other forms of trash from collecting in the oceans, such as carrier bag charges, single-use plastic bans and bottle deposit return schemes.
Last year, volunteers collected over five tonnes of litter, with an average of 3.85 items found for every metre of beach surveyed across the UK and 75 per cent of all litter collected made from plastic and polystyrene.
Dr Laura Foster, Head of Clean Seas at the Marine Conservation Society, said: ‘Pollution, whether it’s big, small or even invisible, is having a hugely negative impact on our ocean and all those who rely on it – including us. Tiny microplastics are being eaten by plankton at the very foundation of ocean ecosystems, animals big and small are being tangled in plastic packaging, turtles are mistaking it for food, and chemical pollution is changing the ocean’s chemistry.
‘All of this is an alarming picture of the state of our seas, but each and every volunteer who joins the Great British Beach Clean helps us research the scale of pollution in the UK. This research is vital to stop pollution at source, and we know it works. Cleaner beaches will support a healthy ocean, and a healthy planet.’
Clare Trotman, Beachwatch Officer at the Marine Conservation Society, said: ‘We wouldn’t be able to do the work we do at the Marine Conservation Society without the support of our volunteers heading out to the coast to collect vital information on what’s polluting our seas.
‘With beach cleans happening across the UK, from remote beaches to busy seaside resorts, there’s so many ways to get involved and support us this year. If you can’t make it to the beach, you can still take part by doing a local litter pick and survey where you live.’
To join the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean as an organiser or volunteer this year, sign up via the charity’s website at www.mcsuk.org/greatbritishbeachclean.
