Mersehead Beach Clean, 1st February 2020
On a grey and blustery Saturday morning in early February, nine committed volunteers and one very well-behaved dog turned up for our first beach clean event of the new decade and our fifth such event here at RSPB Mersehead since September last year.
Beach litter. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
Thanks to the help of dozens of volunteers, we’ve been making our way in stages along the stunning 3.2 mile stretch of coastline that forms a core part of the reserve here, working hard to keep this wild, windswept section of the Solway – an internationally important wintering site for thousands of Svalbard Barnacle Geese – free from unsightly and ecologically damaging plastic and other types of waste.
Mersehead Sands (l); Barnacle Goose feathers in the sand (r). Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
Having started at the western end of the beach back in September, we continued on from where we had left off at the end of our last beach clean in December, heading east from West Preston towards the end of the reserve near to Southerness Point (many thanks again to West Preston Farm for providing us with free parking spaces during the duration of the event).
A selection of rubbish found along the beach. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
This section of the beach proved to be particularly challenging. Much of the waste that we encountered had become trapped in the dense marram grass that carpets the dunes. The closer we looked the more rubbish we could see, much of it partially buried by sand, hidden under vegetation or caught up amongst natural strandline debris. An already challenging task was made even more so by the additional waste brought in during the recent stormy weather.
A skip full of rubbish collected along the beach. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
It took us a total of just under four hours to complete one full sweep of this section, successfully removing most of the larger items and filling a whole skip full of rubbish in the process. In line with data from across the UK, the most common types of item collected once again included single-use plastic drinks containers and other plastic waste such as discarded fishing gear and farm waste. According to the results of the Marine Conservation Society’s 2019 ‘Great British Beach Clean’, on average a shocking 38 drinks containers were collected per 100 metres of UK beach surveyed.
A selection of branded drinks containers and other assorted waste found along the shore. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
As outlined in our December beach clean blog, marine and coastal plastic waste can be extremely damaging to wildlife, in particular due to the risks associated with accidental ingestion or entanglement. This is all the more distressing when one considers that around 50% of plastic items are used just once before being discarded. Many environmental organisations are calling for urgent action to address this issue, including tougher regulations on plastics producers that require them to take more responsibility for the damaging long-term impacts of their products on the global environment.
To fully address this issue, greater recycling on its own will not be enough. Much single-use plastic packaging is extremely difficult to recycle, whilst greenhouse gas emissions from the plastic lifecycle are a now major (and rapidly growing) contributor to the climate crisis, threatening our ability to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C.
A selection of branded rubbish found along the shore. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
There are lots of practical ways that we can all act to reduce our plastic footprint, such as investing in a reusable water bottle or a travel mug for hot drinks on-the-go. However, if you’ve never been on a beach clean before, I cannot recommend it highly enough as an excellent first step to take – you will never think about plastic in the same way again! It is all too easy to go for a walk along your local beach and not notice, to shut your eyes to what is happening to the planet all around us.
Volunteers at work. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
It is not all doom and gloom. It might be quite shocking to see up close the impacts of our unsustainable lifestyles on the natural world, but it is also very motivating. Doing a beach clean is a simple and effective way of reducing the amount of litter along the shore and in the ocean, whilst also raising awareness of the plastic waste crisis and bringing with it a real sense of achievement. It is also good fun, a great way to get some fresh air and exercise in beautiful surroundings whilst meeting new like-minded people (we always stop for a packed lunch, a hot drink and a chat half-way through – a good chance to compare our more unusual finds!).
So, was this the final leg of our ‘Great Mersehead Beach Clean’? Unfortunately not. There is more plastic waste to be collected, and yet more comes in on every tide. It will undoubtedly take a number of further efforts in order to collect many of the smaller (often tiny) items of plastic and other types of waste found along the beach here. But we are making a tangible difference, however small, to addressing this issue of global significance. As the 17th Century French mathematician Blaise Pascal wrote: “The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble.”
We will be taking a break from our regular beach clean events during the spring in order to avoid disturbing nesting birds along the shore. However, we will be organising further events from June onwards, timed to coincide with World Oceans Day and the Year of Coasts and Waters. If you are interested in getting involved, do keep an eye on our Facebook page for details closer to the time.
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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.