THE UK’s leading marine charity – the #MarineConservationSociety (MCS) – is looking for volunteers to register for a citizen science project that involves a trip to the #beach.
The #GreatBritishBeachClean (September 18-21) is the only UK-wide beach clean that not only spruces up hundreds of beaches around the coast but also records the litter finds.
Plastic bottles and carrier bags, nappies, balloons, and tiny plastic pieces can be found on almost every beach in Britain – either washed up, blown there or dropped. Most of the litter found can be traced back to us – the general public.
‘Beach litter has steadily risen over the two decades we’ve been recording it on UK beaches,’ says MCS Beachwatch Officer, Charlotte Coombes. ‘Last year’s Great British Beach Clean attracted almost 5,500 volunteers to over 300 beaches. It’s a citizen science project that has become the most respected and long-standing beach litter survey in the UK.’
In 2014, tiny bits of plastic were the most frequently found litter items on UK beaches. There was a 6.4% rise in beach litter between 2013 and 2014 with wet wipes having the biggest increase at almost 50%.
‘Taking part in the Great British Beach Clean,’ says Ms Coombes. ‘really can make a difference. In previous years when we’ve highlighted increases in dog poo bags and sewage related debris found on beaches, we have seen drops in numbers subsequently. We hope we’ll see fewer wet wipes in 2015 following our mini-campaign showing why these material squares should go in the bin, not the loo.’
MCS says cleaning and surveying a beach takes only a couple of hours. Each beach has a co-ordinator who explains how to fill in a simple data form … then it’s just a case of taking a litter picker and a bin bag and filling it up with rubbish.
Volunteers are also asked to record any branded items they find, to enable MCS to approach specific manufacturers and retailers and look at ways they can work with them to reduce the amount of rubbish from their products reaching beaches.
‘Beach litter is a serious environmental problem,’ says Ms Coombes. ‘But the solution is in our hands. The first step is to register as a volunteer. We want the Great British Beach Clean weekend to offer a snapshot of what the future could look like for the British seaside by reducing the amount of litter that reaches our shores”.
Find out more at http://www.mcsuk.org/greatbritishbeachclean or telephone 01989 566017.
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