The National Bathing Waters Campaign is calling on us all to combat the level of litter in coastal areas and bathing waters. This campaign promotes better environmental practices and encourages people to bin rubbish or take it home to recycle instead of dumping it at the beach. This is especially important with an estimated 5.9 million adults planning to visit coastal resorts over the August Bank Holiday.
Litter is both unsightly and environmentally damaging to our beautiful marine environment. The Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean 2017 highlighted that 138 pieces of 'on the go ' litter were found, on average, per 100m of all the beaches cleaned and surveyed by volunteers. On-the-go litter made up 20% of all litter found on the UKs beaches and 63% of all litter that comes from the public. By being more responsible with litter we can make the beach a tidier, safer place for everyone to enjoy.
There are many things that you can do to support this campaign, here are a few top tips for reducing waste:
- In place of single-use plastics and packaging switch to reusable containers and bottles.
- Always remove any rubbish you create from the beach.
- If the nearest bin is full, find another or take your litter home to recycle (rubbish left near an overflowing bin can easily be blown onto the beach).
- If you bring your dog to the beach, please pick up and dispose of any waste they leave, animal waste contains bacteria which can contaminate the environment and water.
If you’re motivated to do even more to keep the beach and sea clean then why not join thousands of other volunteers for the MCS Great British Beach Clean this September? If you also visit the beach over this Bank Holiday weekend then don’t forget to add #binit4beaches to any posts on social media. By working together, we can all fight back against litter on our beaches and preserve our beautiful coastal heritage and wildlife.
To find out more and register for the Great British Beach Clean visit:
https://www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/greatbritishbeachclean
Or to download your own Plastic free Individual Action Plan visit:
www.sas.org.uk/plastic-free-communities/