Mersehead Beach Clean – 8th December 2019

It was a bright and windy start to our monthly beach clean event last Sunday morning. Eight enthusiastic volunteers came along to assist us in keeping our stunning stretch of the Solway coastline as free as possible from plastic and other types of waste. The rain held off for most of the morning, although the strong winds meant that we had to be extra careful in loading the waste into the skip to ensure that none of the smaller items we collected ended up being blown back out into the sea!

  

Plastic waste on the beach near West Preston. Photo credit: D McCarthy

Not only is this a scenic stretch of coastline, it is also an important haven for wildlife. Here at RSPB Mersehead we are responsible for looking after over 700ha of wildlife-rich coastal and intertidal habitat including sand dunes, dune grasslands, mudflats and saltmarsh, home to important populations of species such as breeding Natterjack toads and wintering Svalbard Barnacle geese.

The plan was to head east along the beach from West Preston towards Southerness (many thanks indeed to West Preston Farm for providing space for the volunteers to park). On first glance, this section of our beautiful reserve looked spotless. However, closer inspection revealed that there was a serious amount of waste lurking in the dunes. As this was the first time that we’d held a beach clean event along this section of the coast, there was quite a substantial build-up of material for us to tackle. In fact, this stretch appeared to be one of the worst affected areas we’d dealt with thus far.

  

Plastic waste. Photo credit: D McCarthy

As a result, it took us a little over three hours to complete a sweep of just under 500m of coastline. In this time we collected a full skipload of waste, much of which had become snagged in areas of dense marram grass. It was impossible to take more than a couple of steps forwards before spotting more waste or hearing the unwelcome crunch of plastic underfoot, which at times was partially hidden by the vegetation. 

  

A skipload of plastic waste. Photo credit: D McCarthy

Unsurprisingly, the most common types of item found included plastic bottles and other plastic waste such as discarded fishing gear and farm waste. This fits with the results of a recent 10-year nationwide assessment undertaken using data collected by the Marine Conservation Society, which found that plastic is “the main constituent of marine anthropogenic litter on British beaches”. [1] 

  

Plastic bottles and other plastic waste. Photo credit: D McCarthy

Plastic pollution represents a growing threat to marine and coastal wildlife, alongside other forms of pollution and issues like habitat destruction and degradation. It has been estimated that around 70% of the litter in the oceans is now made up of plastic, the vast majority of which originates from land-based sources and then finds its way into the marine environment through rivers, waterways, and streams. A proportion of this is then returned to land, for example by being washed up onto beaches during winter storms. Locally, of course, littering and fly-tipping can also be an issue. 

  

Natural waste – Barnacle goose feathers on the shore and caught in saltmarsh vegetation. Photo credit: D McCarthy

This is not good news for wildlife. There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating that plastic pollution can cause injury and death to a wide range of marine organisms – including cetaceans, seabirds and marine turtles – in particular due to accidental ingestion (e.g. of microplastics) or entanglement. According to one study, plastic may have been ingested by at least 90% of all seabirds alive today. [2] As well as being a serious animal welfare issue, this is also a serious wildlife conservation issue. For example, almost one in five species negatively impacted by marine waste are listed as threatened or near threatened on the IUCN Red List. [3]  

  

Piles of plastic and other rubbish collected in the dunes. Photo credit: D McCarthy

Pollution of the environment with plastics is very much a global issue, contaminating marine and coastal habitats “from the poles to the equator and from the shoreline and sea surface to the deep sea”. [4] Plastics originating from the UK can travel right across the planet, whether by transportation on ocean currents or by the global trade in plastic waste. Over 300 million tonnes of plastics are now produced each year – 8 billion tonnes in total since production began – a large proportion of which ends up as waste. According to one estimate, up to 13 million tonnes may be entering the world’s oceans each year from land-based sources. Plastic fishing gear discarded at sea also contributes to the problem and can be particularly hazardous to wildlife. It has been estimated that the quantity of plastic in the marine and coastal environment could treble by 2025.

Beach cleans may only represent a metaphorical drop in the ocean when it comes to trying to address the overwhelming scale of this issue, but however small they can still make a very tangible difference. For example, the 2019 ‘Great British Beach Clean’ – which involved over 10,000 volunteers across 437 beaches spread throughout the UK (including us here at RSPB Mersehead) – resulted in the removal of almost 11 tonnes of litter in just a single weekend! [5]

Roe deer in the dunes. Photo credit: D McCarthy

I think all of our volunteers from Sunday would agree that they felt a real sense of achievement having removed at least some of the damaging plastic waste from our precious environment here at RSPB Mersehead. These efforts also have the potential to directly benefit our local wildlife; species such as Roe deer, Badger and Hare regularly use Mersehead’s sand dune and dune grassland habitats, while large numbers of Barnacle Geese seek out the safety of the sand and mudflats for roosting at dusk. Our efforts will hopefully help to reduce the risks of accidental entanglement or ingestion of plastics for these and many other species.

  

Volunteers at work. Photo credit: D McCarthy

In addition, events such as these can help to raise public awareness of an environmental issue that might otherwise end up as yet another case of “out of sight, out of mind”, potentially leading to positive changes in consumer behaviour. [6] After all, it is hard not to feel a profound sense of shame when you come face to face with branded plastic waste in such a beautiful habitat and remember that these are some of the same brands that you have had in your own shopping basket in the recent past.

We all have a role to play in reducing the amount of plastic that we purchase and consume, as well as in demanding greater action by the public and private sectors. Ultimately, these issues need to be tackled at source, before the waste ends up in the sea and on our shores. According to the UN Environment Assembly, this will need to include producers taking greater responsibility for waste via “the sustainable design, recovery, recycling and environmentally sound disposal of their products”.[7]

If you are interested in getting involved, our next beach clean event will be taking place in February. Please keep an eye on our Facebook page for details closer to the time.

-----

RSPB and SC Johnson are working together to take action on the issue of marine plastics through a programme reaching over 300,000 people in 2019 and 2020. This work is possible due to their generous support.

-----

[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969716325918

[2] https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/08/27/1502108112

[3] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X14008571

[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-the-sea-plastic-pollution

[5] https://www.mcsuk.org/news/great-british-beach-clean-2019-report

[6] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0013916516649412

[7] https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/towards-pollution-free-planet-background-report