You won’t believe the mess Storm Eleanor left behind
THE people of Porthcawl care deeply about their beaches and work hard to protect them.
So when a shocking video was posted online showing the huge amount of waste Storm Eleanor had dumped at Sandy Bay, they wasted no time in sorting it out.
But having filled 43 bags – some of them entirely with plastic – volunteers have also called on people to be more responsible with their use of plastic and how they dispose of it.
Nick Newton-Williams, who took a picture of dozens of plastic batons which he believes are from cotton buds, said: “There are literally millions on all our beaches from irresponsible people flushing them down the toilet. They can easily be made from biodegradable cardboard but they just can’t be bothered to do so. It’s a global issue.
“Just simple things like wooden stirrers for coffee shops not plastic, wooden spoons for ice-cream kiosks and chip shops and no more plastic and polystyrene trays and plastic straws. All these things are all found in massive numbers in the micro plastic on our town’s beaches. There’s no excuse for it at all.”
Sunday’s litter pick on the beach, parts of which are privately owned, was organised after Barry Strong posted a video on Facebook.
It shows the huge amount of waste that was washed up at Sandy Bay by the storm last week. Some of the waste is also believed to have been un- covered by the powerful waves after being buried under the sand for some time. The video left residents in shock, with one posting that the sight was “hideous”.
“It was full of those plastic beads so would need everything scoop- ing up and removed away from the next high tide. A mammoth task to say the least,” said Barry.
Families, members of Porthcawl First and town councillors, including Tracy Hill, Alex Harris, Bob Lewis, Mary EmmentLewis, Mark Chegwen and Les Tallon-Morris, turned out to help, with one visiting family from Caerphilly also joining in.
Town councillor Steve Maitland-Thomas said: “Community spirit in action! We found literally thousands of straws and cotton bud sticks and Co- rum found a syringe. It knocks it home just how much is floating around out there.”
Corum Champion, who runs Porthcawl Bike Hire and Coney Surf and also the group Keeping Porthcawl Clean and Tidy with friend Craig Rees, added: “Great community spirit but the children stole the show. We came armed with fishing nets, sieves, sweeping brushes and shovels. They had the best time learning how to sieve out and sort the plastic and micro plastics. A job well done.”