Volunteers flock to fight waste on the beaches

Hundreds of volunteers will be heading out to beaches in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire this weekend to try to turn the tide on waste.

The Marine Conservation Society, which carries out a survey around the coastline every year, says the amount of litter left on beaches has nearly doubled in the past 15 years. However they are hopeful that a 17 per cent drop in the amount collected last year is a signal of a downward trend.

Local beaches, among the 300 taking part in the survey, include the stretch outside the Leisure Centre, Cleethorpes. People are being asked to meet between 10am and noon on Saturday.

Surveys are also taking place at Spurn Point National Nature Reserve, starting at 12.30pm on Saturday and at North Landing and South Landing at Flamborough on Sunday, with people meeting by the lifeboat stations at 10am.

Marine litter kills wildlife, can be hazardous to people and costs millions of pounds to clear up.

Over 170 species of marine wildlife including seabirds, turtles and whales have been recorded mistaking marine litter for food, which can result in starvation, poisoning and fatal stomach blockages.

Last year the four main sources were public litter (37.7 per cent), items like plastic bags and fast food containers, fishing litter (13.8 per cent), sewage-related debris/sanitary waste (6.2 per cent) and shipping litter (1.8 per cent).

Policy officer Dr Sue Kinsey said EU legislation prohibiting the disposal of waste at sea and the general push on recycling was helping. She said: “Last year was the first year we’ve seen a drop and the hope is that it is the beginning of a trend. “Port waste facilities are massively improving due to EU legislation and that will hopefully be working in our favour.

“Marine litter seems to be high up on the agenda and we had a commitment from all the major parties last year to produce an action plan on litter.”

She said the big question for scientists was whether toxins ingested by the smallest creatures “bioaccumulated” their way up the food chain. She said: “We know it happens in lab conditions – does it happen in the wild? Do the toxins stay or do they pass in and out? We don’t know at the moment.”

To take part visit www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/ events/index2.php and contact the local organiser directly. People can also register with MCS to take part at: www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/registration/ or call 01989 567807.

The MSC’s petition calling for a UK government action plan to tackle marine litter is also available at www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/petition