Record beach litter threatens marine wildlife

Peter Griffiths, Reuters 9 Apr 08;

LONDON (Reuters) - Plastic litter on Britain's beaches has reached record levels, endangering whales, dolphins and seabirds, an environmental charity survey said on Thursday.

The Marine Conservation Society, which campaigns for cleaner beaches and seas, said plastic litter has increased by 126 percent since its first survey in 1994.

Scores of marine wildlife species, including seals and turtles, have died after eating plastic or drowning after getting tangled in debris or old fishing nets, it said.

"The results are truly shocking," said Emma Snowden, the society's litter projects coordinator. "Plastics are of particular concern as they could persist in the marine environment for centuries with fatal consequences for marine wildlife."

In the last decade, the amount of plastic drinks bottles has risen by 67 percent, plastic bags by 54 percent and cigarette butts by 44 percent, the society said.

Nearly 4,000 volunteers took part in the survey of 354 beaches in September last year.

They removed nearly 350,000 pieces of litter. The average density of litter was 2,054 items of litter per kilometer, compared to 1,999 last year.

Cotton buds, crisp wrappers and anglers' fishing line were among the most common items found.

The charity urged the government, industry and retailers to reduce packaging and cut the use of plastic bags.

It said people should reuse bags, take home litter and dispose of cigarette ends responsibly.

Conservative Shadow Environment Secretary said the amount of litter was unacceptable.

"It is becoming impossible to walk along a stretch of beach without seeing the eyesore of plastic waste," he said. "It not only causes environmental damage but endangers our wildlife.

"Some of the waste may not have been generated in Britain but it's our responsibility to tidy it up."

The full MCS Beachwatch 2007 results can be downloaded at www.adoptabeach.org.uk

More plastic than ever on Britain's beaches
Paul Eccleston, The Telegraph 10 Apr 08;

More discarded plastic is finding it way onto beaches than ever before, an annual survey has revealed.

Plastic debris in the form of bottles, bags and lids made up almost 60 per cent of all litter found on beaches.

The latest Marine Conservation Society (MCS) check revealed that plastic litter has increased by 126 per cent since the annual survey began in 1994.

The survey found big rises in the amount of drinks bottles, plastic bags and cigarette butts dumped or washed up by the tide.

Over 170 species of marine wildlife including birds, whales and turtles were recorded fatally mistaking plastic for food.

The MCS Beachwatch 2007 Report is based on data collected by almost 4,000 volunteers on 354 UK beaches surveyed in mid-September last year.

Volunteers combed 168.5km of coast and removed over 346,000 litter items. The average density of UK beach litter was 2,054 items per kilometre - an average of two items for every metre stretch of beach.

MCS Litter Projects Coordinator, Emma Snowden, said: "The results are truly shocking, in the last 10 years plastic drinks bottles have increased by 67 per cent, plastic bags by 54 per cent and cigarette butts by 44 per cent.

"Plastics are of particular concern as they could persist in the marine environment for centuries with fatal consequences for marine wildlife."

Over the 15 years of the survey plastic has consistently accounted for over 50 per cent of all litter found.

Larger items eventually break down into small plastic pieces and microscopic dust, which can be consumed by filter feeding animals, such as barnacles.

Pollutants can be attracted onto the surface of plastic pieces and pose a previously unrecognised threat to marine animals who swallow them. They can then possibly be passed on in the food chain to fish and then to humans.

The MCS says wildlife will continue to be at risk as long as litter - especially plastic - persists on beaches.

Coastal communities which rely on the marine environment for their livelihood through tourism, fishing and recreational water sports, have to pay the price of litter through lost revenue from spoilt fish catches and damage to property.

Sewage related debris resulted in tourists going elsewhere the cost of repeatedly cleaning up beaches amounted to millions of pounds per year.

The four main sources of the litter found were identified in the survey as: recreational and beach visitors (35.3 per cent); fishing (13.7 per cent); sewage related debris (6.1 per cent) and shipping (1.8 per cent). Almost 42 per cent of the rubbish found could not be sourced to particular items.

Litter left behind by visitors or which was washed up on the tide was mainly crisp and sweet packets, fast food packaging and cigarette stubs.

Beach visitors were the main source of litter contributing between 29.7 per cent and 44.3 per cent of the total litter recorded. The 725 items found by volunteers per kilometre surveyed was the largest density of any beach litter source, and higher than the 673 items found in last year's survey.

Fishing litter was the second largest source of UK beach litter, accounting for 13.7 per cent of all the items recorded. The debris was made up of fishing nets, fishing line, ropes, and buoys either deliberately discarded or accidentally lost by the fishing industry.

Sewage represented 6.1 per cent of all litter found which was the lowest density for five years. Cotton bud sticks accounted for 78 per cent of the total and 52 per cent of these were found on East Bay in Scotland. When East Bay's data was left out sewage debris dropped to 3.6 per cent of all litter recorded.

Shipping litter from items such as pallets, strapping bands and oil drums accounted for 1.8 per cent of the litter recorded.

Across the UK, Scotland had the highest levels of overall litter density, recording a 30.4 per cent increase on 2006 and the highest level since 1996.

Litter levels rose slightly in Wales on the previous year, and Welsh beaches had the highest density of recreational and beach visitors' debris, fishing litter and shipping litter of any UK country.

The amount of rubbish on Northern Irish beaches increased in 2007 by more than two thirds (69 per cent ) on 2006, while the Channel Islands was the only place to see levels fall on the previous year.

There was an increase of 2.14 per cent in litter density recorded in England, with the South West recording the highest levels of rubbish per kilometre.

The region had the most recreational and beach visitors' litter, fishing debris and sewage-related waste of any part of England.

The North East had the lowest amount of litter dropped by visitors and recreational coast users, while the South East of England had the lowest density of sewage rubbish.