Latest news with #LizziePrice
Daily Record
19-05-2025
- General
- Daily Record
Volunteers collect nearly 900 pieces of litter from small stretch of Dumfries and Galloway coastline
The Marine Conservation Society has revealed volunteers in Scotland picked up an average of 204 litter items for every 100m of beach cleaned in 2024. Nearly 900 pieces of litter were collected from a small stretch of Dumfries and Galloway coastline. The Marine Conservation Society has revealed that last year, volunteers in Scotland picked up an average of 204 litter items for every 100m of beach cleaned. And in Dumfries and Galloway, nine volunteers cleaning a stretch of beach at RSPB Mershead collected and recorded 879 pieces of litter along a 100m stretch. The charity's State of Our Beaches report for 2024 shows volunteers across the UK picking up more than three quarters of a million pieces of litter last year – an average of 170 items per 100 metres of coastline. The Marine Conservation Society's Beachwatch manager, Lizzie Price, said: 'Thanks to more than 15,000 volunteers last year, the data from our beach cleans is clear: plastic pollution remains a huge problem for our marine environment. 'We urgently need more policies to reduce single-use plastics and ensure better waste management. Everyone has a role to play in protecting our oceans, and we urge the public to support stronger action against plastic waste, as well as cut down plastic from their everyday use.' The report's findings were the subject of a Scottish Parliament debate at Holyrood. Galloway and West Dumfries MSP, Finlay Carson, said: 'I know that much of that litter comes straight from the A75 which winds its way along the Solway coast for much of its length. 'This is not a problem we can clean our way out of. While volunteer efforts are vital, we must also adopt bold policy measures – such as embracing a circular economy and phasing out single-use plastic items like wet wipes, cotton buds, cutlery and straws. 'The Marine Conservation Society has rightly called on all UK governments, including the Scottish Government, to work closely with stakeholders to tackle this crisis head-on. 'This is not an insurmountable challenge but it will require a serious shift in public attitudes, robust policy interventions, and continued support for the volunteers and organisations working tirelessly to protect our coastlines.' • The Marine Conservation Society is keen for people to organise more beach cleans along the Dumfries and Galloway coast. For more information, visit the website.
Sky News
19-03-2025
- General
- Sky News
Three quarters of a million pieces of rubbish found on UK beaches
Conservationists picked up hundreds of thousands of pieces of rubbish from British beaches last year, according to a charity. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said more than 15,000 volunteers picked up three-quarters of a million pieces of litter during beach cleans in 2024, averaging 170 items per 100 metres of coastline surveyed. The number of plastic items - which take hundreds of years to break down and can choke sea life - had jumped by almost a tenth on the year before. It comes after experts warned that small plastic pellets washed up on beaches in the east of England, "likely" to have come from a collision the week before between an oil tanker and a cargo ship. The latest annual State of our Beaches report shows that plastic pollution "remains a huge problem for our marine environment", the charity said. Its volunteers combed stretches of beach for all items of rubbish, which were collected, bagged and recorded in detail. MCS said plastic fragments were the most commonly found rubbish on UK beaches, followed by single-use plastic packaging like crisp packets and sweet and sandwich wrappers. Bottle caps and lids, and string and cord, were also common. 2:39 The charity said it was unclear why plastic litter had increased by so much year, but that it fits the growing trend of plastic clogging up beaches over the 31 years it has been running the survey. Lizzie Price, beach watch manager at the MCS, said: "Thanks to over 15,000 volunteers last year, the data from our beach cleans is clear: plastic pollution remains a huge problem for our marine environment. "We urgently need more policies to reduce single-use plastics and ensure better waste management. "Everyone has a role to play in protecting our oceans, and we urge the public to support stronger action against plastic waste, as well as cut down plastic from their everyday use." A spokesperson from the government's environment department said: "For too long plastic waste has littered our streets, polluted Britain's waterways and threatened our wildlife. "This Government is committed to cleaning up the nation and cracking down on plastic waste as we move towards a circular economy." That includes delivering a delayed return scheme for plastic bottles from 2027 - first promised under the Conservatives in 2018 and originally due to start in 2023.
The Guardian
19-03-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Single-use plastic waste on UK and Channel Island beaches ‘up by 9.5% last year'
Single-use plastic waste increased on UK and Channel Island beaches last year with items such as crisp packets and bottle tops polluting the coast at the rate of almost two items a sq metre, according to data from beach cleanups. The amount of plastic waste collected on beaches rose by 9.5% in 2024, compared with 2023, and more than three-quarters of a million pieces of waste were picked up by volunteers, according to evidence from the State of our Beaches report by the Marine Conservation Society. The charity said nearly half (46%) of the plastic waste was from public sources – household litter washing its way into our seas via rivers, drainage and sewage outlets, or blown or dropped on to our coastline. Lizzie Price, the beachwatch manager at the Marine Conservation Society, said: 'Thanks to over 15,000 volunteers last year, the data from our beach cleans is clear: plastic pollution remains a huge problem for our marine environment. 'We urgently need more policies to reduce single-use plastics and ensure better waste management. Everyone has a role to play in protecting our oceans, and we urge the public to support stronger action against plastic waste, as well as cut down plastic from their everyday use.' A global treaty on cutting plastic waste has yet to be completed after fossil fuel countries and industry lobbyists pushed back on cuts to global plastic production. Talks are due to resume in Geneva this August, where there are hopes that more than 100 countries will succeed in signing a treaty that includes caps on production. Among the most frequently recorded waste found on beaches last year were plastic caps and lids, which were collected from 88% of beaches, and plastic bottles and containers, which appeared on 71% of surveyed sites. The Marine Conservation Society said it was hopeful that the much-delayed plastic bottle deposit return scheme (DRS), due to start in October 2027, would help reduce the number of discarded plastic bottles and related waste in the future. The DRS was first promised in 2018 but successive governments have delayed its implementation. Last year more than 15,000 people took part in the beach cleanups across 92 miles of beaches in the UK and Channel Islands. The numbers of volunteers and hours were balanced out in order to calculate the percentage rise year on year. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion One item which has decreased is plastic bags. Since the introduction of charges for carrier bags there has been an 88% decrease in them being found on beaches. The charity said this showed how policy interventions could curb plastic waste and said consumers needed more options to buy items in refillable and reusable containers to tackle the scourge of plastic pollution. Plastics endanger marine life through ingestion, entanglement and toxic contamination. Seabirds, seals and fish often mistake plastic for food, leading to internal injuries, starvation and even death. Microplastics – tiny particles that come from broken-down plastic – are now present in the ocean and food chain, posing a long-term threat to wildlife and human health. Microplastics are now increasingly contaminating the human brain.
The Independent
19-03-2025
- General
- The Independent
Plastic litter increases by nearly 10% on UK beaches, charity clean-up finds
The amount of plastic litter on beaches around the UK increased by almost a tenth last year, volunteer beach cleans have revealed. The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said more than 15,000 volunteers picked up three quarters of a million pieces of litter across beaches in the UK in 2024, averaging 170 items per 100 metres of coastline surveyed. Its latest annual 'state of our beaches' report reveals that plastic litter collected in beach cleans and surveys increased 9.5% in 2024, compared with beach cleans in 2023, showing that plastic pollution 'remains a huge problem for our marine environment', the charity said. MCS beach cleans and surveys involve volunteers combing stretches of beach for all items of rubbish, which are collected, bagged and recorded in detail. The conservation group said plastic fragments were the most commonly found rubbish on UK beaches, followed by single use plastic packaging such as crisp packets and sweet and sandwich wrappers. Bottle caps and lids, and string and cord were also among the most commonly found items in the beach cleans. The charity said it was not clear why there was such an increase in plastic litter this year, but added there has been an increasing trend in plastic items found on beaches over the 31 years it has been running the survey. The largest source of rubbish (46%) is from the public, including household litter washed down to the sea through rivers or drainage, or blown or dropped on the coastline, while more than a third (34%) could not be identified. Other less significant sources of litter included fishing, shipping, sewage debris and fly-tipping, the report showed. Around the UK, English beaches had an average of 158 items of litter per 100 metres surveyed in 2024, down 2.2% on 2023, while Wales had 120 items per 100 metres, which was a 4.3% increase on the previous year. In Scotland, volunteers picked up 204 items per 100 metres surveyed, a 7.2% increase, while in Northern Ireland, an average of 316 pieces of litter were collected for every 100 metres surveyed, a 35.9% increase on 2023. And in the Channel Islands, 119 pieces of rubbish were picked up for every 100 metres of beach, a 64.6% increase on 2023, the report showed. Lizzie Price, beachwatch manager at the MCS, said: 'Thanks to over 15,000 volunteers last year, the data from our beach cleans is clear: plastic pollution remains a huge problem for our marine environment. 'We urgently need more policies to reduce single-use plastics and ensure better waste management. 'Everyone has a role to play in protecting our oceans, and we urge the public to support stronger action against plastic waste, as well as cut down plastic from their everyday use.' Catherine Gemmell, policy and advocacy manager at the MCS added: 'The findings highlight the persistent problem of plastic pollution, and the need for a circular economy in which consumers have more options and access to use refillable and reusable products. 'We need more policies by the UK Government, and incentives for businesses, to cut down on the single-use plastic that we're producing,' she urged. An Environment Department spokesperson said: 'For too long plastic waste has littered our streets, polluted Britain's waterways and threatened our wildlife. 'This Government is committed to cleaning up the nation and cracking down on plastic waste as we move towards a circular economy. 'This includes delivering a deposit return scheme so more plastic is recycled and not chucked away as litter or left to rot on landfill.'
