Litter on beaches in UK doubles in 14 years

British beaches have never been dirtier, the Marine Conservation Society has found, with record amounts of litter washed up around the coastline
Louise Gray, The Telegraph 7 Apr 09;

The 2008 annual survey recorded and removed some 385,659 items of rubbish including plastic bags, sanitary items, fishing nets, cigarette butts and cotton bud sticks from beaches across the UK.

The average amount of rubbish found was 2,195 items per kilometre (0.6 miles) - more than two pieces for every metre (3.3ft) of beach, and more than double the 1,045 items per kilometre picked up during the first annual survey in 1994.

More than a third of the rubbish was generated by the public followed by fishing litter, sewage-related rubbish and debris from shipping. The worse problem was plastic, which accounted for more than half of the litter found. It never breaks down and is a threat to wildlife.

Emma Snowden, Litter Projects Co-ordinator for the MCS, said litter is not only ruining the appearance of Britain's coastline but causing a hazard for threatened wildlife. She said more than 170 species including seabirds, turtles and whales have been known to mistake litter for food, which can lead to starvation, poisoning and fatal stomach blockages.

"Whether you live near the coast or miles inland, we are all connected to the sea," she said. "This is a man-mad problem. Every piece of litter has an owner and we all need to take responsibility to not drop litter in the first place."

More than 5,000 volunteers for the MCS surveyed 175.7 kilometres (109 miles) on 374 beaches for the survey, collecting 3,188 bags of rubbish last September.

The dirtiest beaches were in the South West where 4,784 items of rubbish were picked up per kilometre (0.6 miles), although this is largely due to the patterns of tides washing rubbish into the area. Wales and Scotland were next followed by the South East where 1,941 items were recorded per km. The North West was slightly better followed by the North East and Channel Islands. Northern Ireland had the cleanest beaches with 940 items per km.

Beach litter can also be hazardous to people and costs millions to clear up.

However at the moment there is no Government-led plan of action to tackle the problem.

Miss Snowden called on ministers to take action.

"MCS wants to see zero waste on Britain's beaches and our first goal is to halve the litter on Britain's beaches by 2015," she said. "But in order to achieve this we need to appoint lead agencies with the specific responsibility to stop marine litter and develop a marine action plan now."

Record levels of litter found dumped on UK beaches
Increase in flytipping and shipping rubbish poses a serious hazard to seabirds
Martin Hickman, The Independent 8 Apr 09;

A record amount of litter is fouling Britain's beaches, according to a national survey today.

The Marine Conservation Society’s annual Beachwatch survey found double the amount of plastic, rope, sweet wrappers and other debris than its first check 15 years ago.

An army of volunteers spotted an average of 2,195 pieces of litter per kilometre last September compared with 1,045 in 1994.

Pieces of plastic were the objects most often found, followed by polystyrene, plastic rope, plastic caps and sweet wrappers.

The MCS said that it could not be sure where 40 per cent of the rubbish came from, but blamed members of the public for 37 per cent of the total. Fishing boats were responsible for 13 per cent.

Sanitary towels and cotton buds flushed down toilets and carried out in sewage accounted for 6 per cent of the total, followed by shipping and fly-tipping.

A record 5,129 volunteers walked 374 beaches in September last year, collecting 385,000 separate items of rubbish from 176km of Britain’s coastline, 9 per cent of the total.

Wales had most litter (2,634 items per km), followed by England (2,242), Scotland (1,505) and Northern Ireland (484).

MCS demanded urgent action from Whitehall to prevent the growing tide of litter damaging marine life and complained that there was no strategy in place to tackle the problem.

More than 170 species of marine wildlife including seabirds, turtles and whales can ingest litter, resulting in starvation, poisoning and fatal stomach blockages, the MCS, Britain’s biggest marine charity, said.

"Whether you live near the coast or miles inland, we are all connected to the sea. This is a man-made problem. Every piece of litter has an owner and we all need to take responsibility to not drop litter in the first place," said Emma Snowden, MCS litter project coordinator.

"MCS wants to see zero waste on Britain’s beaches and our first goal is to halve the litter on Britain’s beaches by 2015, but in order to achieve this we need to appoint lead agencies with the specific responsibility to stop marine litter and develop a marine action plan now."

Keep Britain Tidy spokesman Dickie Felton complained that litter louts had turned the shoreline into "dumping grounds." "It is shocking that our coastline is blighted by such high levels of litter but sadly the state of our beaches mirrors the state of our towns and cities too. There is no excuse for dropping litter anywhere, it’s disgusting."

The Council for the Protection of Rural England joined calls for Government action. "These figures confirm what we suspect: that people are continuing to thoughtlessly drop litter and the Government should act on managing litter as a matter of urgency. It should meet the MCS to draw up a strategy," said Samantha Harding, manager for CPRE’s Stop the Drop campaign.

British beach litter levels highest on record
Research by Marine Conservation Society shows drastic rise in beach waste, with public litter accounting for nearly 40% of it
David Adam, guardian.co.uk 8 Apr 09;

The amount of litter on British beaches has reached record levels, according to a survey of 374 popular coastal spots. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) study reveals that litter levels have more than doubled in the last 15 years, putting seabirds, turtles and whales at risk.

Volunteers recorded 385,659 individual pieces of rubbish – equivalent to two pieces per metre.

Emma Snowden, MCS litter projects coordinator, said: "Whether you live near the coast or miles inland, we are all connected to the sea. This is a man-made problem. Every piece of litter has an owner and we all need to take responsibility to not drop litter in the first place."

Snowden said the society wanted to cut beach litter by 50% by 2015. "In order to achieve this we need to appoint lead agencies with the specific responsibility to stop marine litter and develop a marine action plan now." The society has launched an online petition calling on ministers to set up such a plan.

The survey – which was conducted during one weekend last September – showed the main source of rubbish is public litter (37.7%) followed by fishing litter (13.8%), sewage related debris/sanitary waste (6.2%) and shipping litter (1.8%).

The most common items were plastic and polystyrene pieces, along with plastic rope, plastic lids, crisp and sweet wrappers. Cotton bud sticks made up 4.6% of the recorded waste, while bits of fishing net and line made up 7.4%.

The average density of UK beach litter in the survey was 2,195 items per kilometre, compared with 1045 pieces per kilometre found during the first Beachwatch survey in 1994.

Plastic packaging and discarded fishing nets injure, entangle and drown marine wildlife including seals and dolphins, the society warned. More than 170 marine animals have been recorded mistaking plastic bags and other items for food, which can result in starvation, poisoning and fatal stomach blockages. It can also be hazardous to people and costs millions of pounds to clear up.

Neil Jacobson, head of coastal operations at the Crown Estate, which co-funded the survey, said: "Beachwatch and its thousands of volunteers continue to highlight the increasing problem of beach litter. This report makes it clear individual action is the key to encouraging everyone to keep Britain's beaches beautiful and free of litter."

Robin Wilkins, managing director of co-funders SeaFrance, said: "Along with other members of SeaFrance staff and local volunteers, I have been involved in regular beach cleans and surveys at Kingsdown. It's been quite shocking to see the levels of litter on the beach. One problem is it's the easy option to just leave your litter behind rather than take it home with you but the litter left behind impacts our coastline for generations."

The society says its annual surveys are "essential in turning the tide on litter". It says recent results have helped change laws governing disposal of waste at sea, and have forced investment in better coastal sewage treatment. The data also feeds into a project called the International Coastal Cleanup, involving more than 70 countries, organised by the Ocean Conservancy in the US.

"The government appears to have given up the fight against litter, which is now far worse on our beaches than it has been for years," said Nick Herbert, shadow environment secretary. "It's not only unpleasant for visitors but a threat to our marine wildlife too.

"The thousands of volunteers who are trying to clear up this mess are doing a fantastic job, but we need a far more concerted campaign to prevent littering in the first place. We need more responsibility from producers, better incentives to recycle things like plastic bottles and, where necessary, tougher enforcement against litterbugs."

Huw Irranca-Davies, the environment minister, said: "Litter goes in our bins, not on our beaches, and ultimately this is an issue of personal responsibility. This is a problem caused by a minority who spoil things for everyone else, and campaigns against this behaviour can help us to make this unacceptable to everyone. That's why we fund Keep Britain Tidy for anti-litter campaigns to help stamp out the problem."

In England, where more than a quarter of a million pieces of rubbish were logged, the average levels of litter increased by almost a tenth on the figures for 2007, and the problem got worse in all regions except for the north-west. Levels of rubbish in Scotland fell slightly in 2008, compared with the previous year, but were still at the highest densities in the UK, with an average 2,581 items per kilometre. Wales and Northern Ireland both saw litter levels fall slightly, but the Channel Islands saw a slight increase.

UK coastal litter in numbers

385,659 – individual pieces of rubbish

374 – beaches surveyed

175.7km - total length of coastline covered

2,195 – mean number of items per km

14.5% – proportion of large plastic rubbish items

5.7% – plastic caps/lids

5.2% – crisp/sweet wrappers

4.6% – cotton bud sticks

1.7% – drink cans