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  PlanetArk 23 Apr 07
Litter-Strewn Beaches Awash With Stubs and Buds
Story by Peter Griffiths

BBC 20 Apr 07
Rubbish ruining fragile coastline

The Marine Conservation Society says beach litter in the UK has increased by 90% since 1994 with its researchers finding 1,000 items of litter for every mile of beach.

BBC environment correspondent Sarah Mukherjee travels to Dorset to see how one beauty spot is being affected.

The view is breathtaking. Honey-coloured cliffs jutting out into dark turquoise sea. Emerald hills splashed yellow with gorse. And the sweep of the bay itself, the horizon identically coloured to the sea.

Kimmeridge Bay is part of the stunning Purbeck coast, a world heritage site important to fossil hunters and biologists alike. The ancient sea creature that makes this a palaeontologists' paradise also makes it rich in oil.

Local people say some water from nearby wells used to be undrinkable because of the film of oil floating on the top, and oil so permeates the rocks that occasionally they spontaneously catch fire.

But that environmental danger pales into insignificance when you walk down to the beach.

'Eating rubbish'

Bottles, crates, syringes, sewage waste - every three months local volunteers clear up the beach, but still the rubbish keeps on landing. Empty shampoo bottles and plastic car parts from the Napoli, a cargo ship that ran aground in nearby Lyme Bay about a month ago, litter the beach as if tossed by some enormous toddler.

"There are parts of this beach that look like a landfill site," says Steve Trewhella, warden with the Marine Conservation Trust.

"The big stuff is bad enough, but what's almost worse is the tiny pieces of plastic which are spread across the bay.

"The Americans call them 'nurdles', and they are processed and used to make all sorts of products. But trillions of them have fallen off container ships, and ended up on beaches all over the world.

"They gradually wear away and become smaller and smaller, until even scallops and other shellfish eat them. Eventually, we can end up eating our own rubbish."

'Visitors to blame'

Steve is passionate about the huge diversity of wildlife in the bay, but he admits he finds it depressing.

"Rubbish from the sea and rubbish from people who don't care. It's another reflection of a society that doesn't think it has any responsibilities, only rights.

"I have told people to take their rubbish home with them on a number of occasions, and been met with a stream of abuse."

For although plastic from around the world ends up on the beach, the Marine Conservation Society says a third of beach litter is left by the people who come to visit.

We are happy enough to complain about other people's rubbish it seems, but not so good when it comes to cleaning up after ourselves.

"We have got to stop treating the sea like a liquid dustbin," says Emma Snowden, the anti-litter campaigner for the Marine Conservation Society. "By all means enjoy our wonderful coastlines but when you leave, bag and bin your rubbish"

And, Emma says, we can take that message back home - and think twice before throwing stuff in the bin.

"You may have noticed little plastic sticks when you're on the beach" she says. "They look like lolly sticks, but in fact they're the plastic bits of cotton wool buds.

"When people flush them down the loo, they don't realise that they escape the sewage filtration systems and go directly into the sea to be washed up on the beach. "Think about that next time you're having a picnic by the seaside."

Emma and Steve say people have got to stop thinking that leaving litter on our fragile coastline somehow doesn't matter, that the sea will take it somewhere else.

Over the next weeks and months, many of us will contemplate a day by the sea. Perhaps we should make sure that we take home our rubbish along with our golden memories.

BBC 20 Apr 07
Beach litter 'increases by 90%'

The amount of litter on Britain's beaches has increased by more than 90% since 1994, says an annual survey.

The Marine Conservation Society's (MCS) Beachwatch survey of 358 areas found an average of two items of litter for each metre (3.3ft) of beach.

Individuals are the worst offenders, either for direct litter-dropping or wrongly flushing items, such as cotton buds, that end up on beaches. Fishing debris was another key source, accounting for about 11% of litter.

The survey recorded litter levels of 1,988.7 items per kilometre (0.62 miles) in 2006, up from 1,045 items per kilometre in 1994 MCS said individuals were responsible for more than a third of the litter and many of the top ten items.

Emma Snowden, from the MCS, told BBC News: "Beach visitors are contributing to the majority of litter left on our beaches which is a real shame as nobody wants to visit a dirty beach.

"Unfortunately they are the main culprits, so we are asking everybody to please dispose of their waste properly, take it home with you, and please don't flush items down the toilet - don't use it as a wet dustbin."

Ms Snowden added that many litter items were not just "unsightly" but were made of plastic which persists for many years in the marine environment.

Campaign call

The number of cigarette stubs - now the eighth most common item found - had steadily increased over the years and had potential to climb even higher as smoking moves outdoors, said the charity.

MCS is calling for a UK-wide environmental education campaign to change litter-dropping and flushing habits. Its 2006 report is based on data collected by more than 4,000 volunteers on 358 UK beaches - covering 187 km (116 miles) of coastline - during September 16 and 17 2006. More than 370,000 litter items were removed during the process.

Their figures suggested the top sources of litter were beach visitors, fishing debris, sewage related debris/sanitary waste and shipping litter. Scotland had the highest levels of sewage-related debris, made up of cotton buds, tampons, pant liners and condoms.

The density of this kind of litter in Scotland - 694.5 items per km - was more than three times the UK average of 205.9/km, and accounted for 33.2% of all litter in the country.

TOP TEN LITTER ITEMS
1. Pieces of plastic, 1cm-50cm; 13.2%
2. Cotton bud sticks; 8.6%
3. Pieces of plastic, less than 1cm; 6.2%
4. Crisp/sweet/lolly wrappers; 5.6%
5. Polystyrene pieces; 5.5% 6.
Plastic caps/lids; 5.4% 7. rope; 4.3% 8.
Cigarette stubs; 4.2%
9. Plastic drinks bottles; 3.9%
10. Fishing net; 3.3%
Source: MCS

PlanetArk 23 Apr 07
Litter-Strewn Beaches Awash With Stubs and Buds
Story by Peter Griffiths

LONDON - Litter on Britain's beaches has nearly doubled in 12 years, with plastic bottles, cotton buds and cigarette stubs fuelling the blight, according to an annual survey released on Friday.

The Marine Conservation Society, a charity that campaigns for cleaner beaches and seas, blamed a "throwaway culture" for the rise in seaside rubbish.

Among the worst culprits are people who throw rubbish down the toilet, only for it to wash up on the beach after going through the sewage system.

"The majority of these products are made of plastic which persists in the marine environment for many years," said Emma Snowden, the society's litter projects co-ordinator. "This should be such an easy environmental issue to resolve and yet the message is still not getting across.

"Everyone must take responsibility to 'Bag it and Bin it - never flush it.'"

Researchers for the Beachwatch survey found that litter had increased by 90.3 percent since 1994. The average density of litter was 1,988.7 items per kilometre, or two per metre.

The cleanest beaches were in Northern Ireland and the dirtiest in Wales and southwest England.

A third of all rubbish is left by beach users. The fishing industry and sewage outlets were also identified as major sources.

The rise in plastic waste threatens wildlife, spoils fishing catches and damages tourism, the society said.

Cigarette stubs were not in the trash top 20 in 1994 but are now the eighth most common item. "With the smoking regulations (on smoking indoors) coming into force, this problem is likely to increase," Snowden said.

The MCS Beachwatch 2006 report was based on data collected by 4,000 volunteers on 358 UK beaches last September.
links
You CAN make a difference
 ACT against litter that harms the environment
 It's NOT just about picking up litter...
learn more about Singapore's own Coastal Cleanup effort
the latest effort was at Kranji for Earth Day, see the results for our own shores
join our own ICCS efforts, subscribe to the mailing list to be updated on upcoming efforts

Related articles on marine litter and Global issues: marine
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