PPE pollution on the rise on UK beaches
2 minute read
Like many events this year, the Great British Beach Clean, our annual flagship event, looked a little different.
Our organisers downsized their beach cleans to small groups and enlisted friends, families and ‘bubbles’ to help clear beaches of litter and take part in the citizen science project. We also extended the Great British Beach Clean to become a week-long event, running from 18 to 25 September 2020.
Despite the unusual circumstances, 2,124 volunteers took part across 459 events. Our volunteers at the beach were joined by others getting involved in our brand-new Source to Sea Litter Quest inland. The inland litter survey means we can see what litter is making its way to the coast. 80% of litter on our beaches has travelled from our parks, rivers and streets far from the coast.
A new kind of litter
The results from this year’s Great British Beach Clean show a concerning, but perhaps predictable, presence of personal protective equipment (PPE) litter. Face masks and gloves were found on almost 30% of beaches cleaned by our volunteers. The Source to Sea Litter Quest data shows a similarly worrying presence of masks and gloves, with more than two thirds (69%) of litter picks finding PPE items.
Lizzie Prior, Great British Beach Clean Coordinator, said: “The amount of PPE our volunteers found on beaches and inland this year is certainly of concern. Considering mask wearing was only made mandatory in shops in England in late July, little more than three months before the Great British Beach Clean, the sharp increase in PPE litter should be a word of warning for what could be a new form of litter polluting our beaches in the future.”
Deposit return schemes
In addition to the sharp jump in face masks and gloves, drinks containers continue to pollute UK beaches. An average of 30 drinks containers were found per 100m of beach surveyed this year. Inland, almost all litter picks (99%) found drinks containers. This continued blight to our environment illustrates the urgent need for governments to follow Scotland’s lead and introduce an all-inclusive deposit return scheme. The scheme in Scotland is due to start in July 2022.
Dr Laura Foster, Head of Clean Seas, said: “This year’s data, shows just how crucial it is that Wales, England and Northern Ireland follow in the footsteps of Scotland and commit to introducing a deposit return scheme.
Credit: Andrew Brown
How you can help
Data collected by our volunteers has been instrumental in the creation of policies which stop single-use plastic pollution at source: the 5p single-use carrier bag charge, the ban on plastic coffee stirrers and straws, and the commitment to a deposit return scheme in Scotland, alongside much more.
The coronavirus global pandemic is affecting us all. As habits change, new litter items are appearing on our beaches and we need to get more people trained up and helping to organise beach cleans across the UK. If you can donate, we’d really appreciate your support for our PPE Clean-Up Appeal.
