Project will stop Arrochar ‘litter sink’
After decades of living with some of the worst beach litter in Scotland, residents of an Argyll village are hoping new technology could clean up their foreshore.
Every year 1.2 tonnes of litter washes on to the shore at Arrochar – more than 10 per cent of all rubbish that enters the River Clyde.
Now an enormous new steel boom is to be built on the Clyde to net plastic and litter pollution before it heads downstream, following an announcement made on Wednesday June 8.
Councillor Mark Irvine, whose Lomond North ward includes Arrochar, said: ‘The head of the loch at Arrochar is blighted by plastic debris that washes ashore and the local residents organise countless beach cleans every year to try and keep on top of the problem.
‘It has resulted in high levels of micro-plastics in the water that eventually get into the food chain and on to our dinner tables. It makes perfect sense to tackle the problems of pollution in the rivers and tributaries before it gets out to the main waterways and sea lochs.’
The new boom is part of a year-long project being piloted by Marine Scotland, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Peel Ports and Glasgow City Council.
A recent Marine Scotland report commissioned by the Scottish Government explained that Arrochar is disproportionately impacted by pollution due to prevailing winds, the shape of the Clyde and tidal patterns.
The report added: ‘Large volumes of dead seaweed accumulate on Arrochar’s foreshore. In the past this was viewed as a bonus for the area as the seaweed was removed and used on fields and gardens as fertiliser. However, we now make over 400 million tonnes of plastic each year. Of this, about two to five per cent enters the sea through bad management of our waste.
‘The presence of this plastic waste in our seas means that the “ware” on Arrochar foreshore is now completely mixed with pieces of plastic, from large items like buckets and shoes to almost invisibly small pieces, broken down from larger items such as plastic
bags and bottles. This mix is now a problem to the local community, not a resource because it cannot be used as fertiliser any longer.’
The global problem that results in Arrochar’s beach being strewn with plastic was also highlighted by Councillor Irvine. He said: ‘The bigger issue, in my opinion, is that consumers will continue to buy single use plastics and plastic packaged products as long as food manufacturers are allowed to get away with supplying non-recyclable packaging and polythene bags.
‘There are countless other ways of packaging products that are more environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and are from sustainable sources.
‘Consumers will adapt to alternatives and willingly make changes to their shopping habits if that is what is presented to them. In turn that will help the local authority improve its ability to recycle our waste.
‘Any effort we make to capture plastics in our waterways has got to be beneficial. But the problem is still that we need to continue to educate and change bad habits that cause the plastics to be dumped in places where they can get into our waters.
‘We need more recycling points, continuous education and better, biodegradable products in our supply chain.’
Announcing the new project ahead of the United Nation’s World Oceans Day on Wednesday June 8, Glasgow’s climate convener Councillor Angus Millar said: ‘Marine litter damages the environment and can harm wildlife. Removing it from the Clyde using passive technology like a boom is an environmentally friendly way to tackle the problem. The project will not only benefit Glasgow, local wildlife and migrating fish, it will also help reduce the levels of rubbish reaching destinations downstream – including the Arrochar foreshore.’