Despite the windy weather, The Deep were pleased to welcome 18 volunteers to Withernsea Beach on Saturday 3rd May to take part in our free Beach Clean event!
Between The Deep's Crew and volunteers, a total of 189 items of litter were collected across 2 hours, from a section of the beach spanning 100m in length and 40m in width. This equates to 12 bags carrying a total weight of 10.5kg of rubbish that was saved from ending up in our sea.
Of the total volume of litter collected, over 50% of this was plastic or polystyrene waste. Plastic pollution remains one of the greatest challenges our ocean is facing right now. Not only does it make our beaches look dirty, but it is affecting marine animals, birds, sea plants and is even having a detrimental effect on our health too. The key types of plastic pollution which affect our ocean are single-use plastics which range from water bottles to carrier bags, and microplastics which are found in every day products such as cosmetics, clothing and even toothpaste.
There has been an 80% decrease in plastic bags found on UK beaches since the 5p charge was introduced, however there is still a long way to go in reducing the total number of single-use plastic items that are found on UK beaches each year.
Beach cleans are a fantastic way to get involved in keeping your local coastline free of litter to protect the environment and our native marine species. Each piece of litter collected on our beach cleans is identified, weighed and recorded before being responsibly disposed of. The data collected goes towards the Marine Conservation Society’s national survey as part of the Beachwatch National Beach Cleaning programme, which is used to help raise public awareness of the impact of litter on the environment. This data is hugely important as it helps track litter back to source, and enables the team to campaign for change.
Thanks to the volunteers that attended our most recent Beach Clean for helping to keep Britain's beaches beautiful and our ocean safe for wildlife!
Please keep an eye on our website What's On page to book onto future Beach Clean events, or why not organise your own? For resources, top tips and information on how to start your own beach clean, head to our Get Involved page!