Latest news with #StateofourBeaches
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.
