More plastic bottles found littering the coastline

The number of plastic bottles ending up as litter on the Scottish coast has risen by almost 20 per cent in the past year, according to results from the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean.

This is despite an overall drop on 12 per cent in the amount of rubbish found on shores in Scotland and across the UK.

Fragments of plastic that had broken off larger items were the most commonly found items nationwide, making up nearly 45 per cent of all litter found.

Lost and discarded fishing gear made up nearly 15 per cent of trash collected, while a further six per cent was sanitary products, wet wipes and other sewagerelated debris.

The number of cigarette butts found also rose last year, with an average of around 43 on every 100m stretch of beach surveyed.