Call for volunteers to get involved in major beach clean

Volunteers from across the north and north-east are needed to join in one of the biggest beach cleaning events in the country – and it starts today.

The Marine Conservation Society’s annual Great British Beach Clean is running from today until September 25.

From Stonehaven to Orkney, beach cleans and litter surveys are planned and enthusiastic volunteers are needed.

The Great British Beach Clean is more than just a litter pick.

Every year volunteers make note of the litter they collect, sharing the data with the Marine Conservation Society’s experts.

The charity has used data collected to campaign for carrier=bag charges, singleuse plastic bans and, from next August, Scotland’s deposit return scheme for bottles and cans.

Last year, volunteers in Scotland collected over two tonnes of litter, with an average of 3.46 items recorded for every metre of beach surveyed across the country.

In the north and northeast, members of the public can join beach cleans at:

● Ardersier;

● Burray, Orkney (both today);

● Aberdeen;

● Avoch;

● Saltburn (all three on Sunday);

● Cromarty (Monday);

● Invergordon (Tuesday);

● Stonehaven;

● Nairn;

● Rosemarkie (all next Saturday).

These events aren’t like ordinary beach cleans where volunteers bag rubbish as fast as they can the move on.

These events are more data-driven and there is a focus on keeping records of exactly what kinds of litter are picked up.

For example, 75% of all litter collected across the UK during last year’s Great British Beach Clean was made of plastic or polystyrene.

The beach cleans even get down to the basics, recording individual items like cotton buds and face masks.

By counting the items, the MCS can measure the impact of policy and cultural changes.

This includes the likes of the plastic bag charge which was introduced in Scotland in 2015 to reduce the number of bags ending up on beaches, and in rivers and landfill.

Data from MCS beach cleans shows the policy has worked and plastic bags are becoming less commonplace on beaches, from a high of 13 per 100m of beach on average in 2013, down to just three last year.

Catherine Gemmell, Scotland conservation officer at the MCS said: “Our volunteers have helped provide vital evidence to ban single-use plastic items like cutlery and cotton bud sticks.

“With 25 wet wipes found on average per 100m of surveyed Scottish beach during the 2021 Great British Beach Clean our data is also currently being used to call for a ban on single-use plastic wet wipes.

“We need the government to be faster at turning off the single-use tap still pouring into Scottish seas.”

She added that the Scottish Government is in consultation on a Circular Economy Bill and the data that beach cleaning volunteers collect is vital evidence used to call for swift action.

TIDY WORK: Volunteers take part in a previous Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean and survey.