Charity’s fear 
as beach litter 
increases

Increasing amounts of litter from sweet wrappers to cigarette butts are being found on UK beaches, according to a survey that raises concerns anti-littering campaigns are now falling on deaf ears.
By The Newsroom
Published 14th May 2013, 01:01 BST

Plastic rubbish including sweet and lolly wrappers rose by three per cent in 2012 compared to 2011, the annual count of litter on UK beaches in the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Beachwatch Big Weekend showed.

The rubbish from smoking also soared, with the number of cigarette butts doubling and litter including lighters and packets increasing by 90 per cent in 2012.

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Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of the total litter recorded was made of plastic, with unidentified scraps of plastic topping the table for the most commonly found litter. On average, 75 drink bottles were found for every thousand yards of beaches surveyed.

The conservation charity warned the findings showed decades of anti-litter campaigning needed to be reinvigorated for a new generation.

The rise in smoking-related litter could be the result of more people smoking outside as a result of the smoking ban and dropping their butts rather than putting them in ashtrays, the MCS added.