We must begin to clean up this mess
Many might walk along a beach and think it’s clean, but a closer look at the tideline often reveals plastic mixed up with the seaweed, driftwood and shells.
This plastic tide can include food wrappers, drinks containers, cotton buds, wet wipes and bulkier items like discarded or lost fishing gear.
Plastic has been recorded from the Arctic and Antarctic to the deepest parts of the ocean and everywhere in-between, creating a planetary crisis because these items don’t biodegrade – they just break into smaller and smaller pieces. During Beachwatch surveys, our volunteers have collected crisp packets with branding that shows they have been swilling around for decades largely still intact.
Once fragmented, the tiniest pieces of plastic remain round our shores, in the water column, on the seabed and in amongst the grains of sand and mud.
Scotland has laudable ambition when it comes to environmental levies, commitment to introduce a deposit return system for drinks containers, reuse and recycling but we need to go further and faster.
There are certain materials, such as black plastics, polystyrene and non-recyclable single-use films and wraps, that should be banned altogether. We need to stop adding to this plastic tide whilst cleaning up the filthy legacy that’s already been left behind.