Volunteer Andy Deacon writes about the recent storms and the legacy they have left behind at Hodbarrow.
Last week the strong winds and high tides swept plenty of rubbish up onto on the beach at Hodbarrow Point. Only a very small percentage of the tons of rubbish entering the sea reaches land like this. Mainly consisting of plastic this debris creates an environmental hazard to wildlife on and off the shore in two ways.
There is the obvious physical risk of entanglement or choking. In addition there is the more insidious poisoning of marine life, including fish we eat. The plastic breaks up under the action of the sea and sun to form edible micro-fragments.
The bottles, containers, shoes and broken kids spades on the high water line at Hodbarrow were cleared. Nearly two sacks full weighing over 20kgs.
Among the plastic bottles was one with a message in it. There was some excitement of anticipation whilst determining how far it had travelled. It had been written by 7 year old Patrick and seems to be part of a school project but it is not clear which Loreto school he attends. My only wish is the class had been encouraged to understand and minimise the environmental impact by using a glass bottle with cork stopper rather than adding to plastic pollution of the sea.
For more information about the rubbish in our seas:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/albatross/about/nestingsites/hawaii.aspx
http://5gyres.org/