With the lighter mornings here, it's good to be up and out early (weather permitting) and walk 7 miles to the shop via Blue Anchor for a walk along the beach to Minehead. During April, I managed to walk on 18 days which equates to 126 miles of which 5 miles along the beach totals 90 miles. I always take my litter picker and bags to pick up anything I see along the lanes and bin it at Blue Anchor before starting my beach clean to Minehead along the tide line. There were some days where it was lots of smaller pieces of plastic whereas other days when the sea was choppy, lots of larger items washed up including the remains of a plastic dog bed one morning! I decided I should start counting the pieces of plastic as I go along to make it easier to record. The total for April was 3892 pieces of plastic larger than 1cm but smaller than 30cm. Remains of plastic cups continues to be the most common item I find. However, now the holiday season is here, I'm finding increasing amounts of clothing and beach toys. The toys which are complete will be placed in The Beach Toy Library out the Beach Hotel in Minehead where anyone is welcome to borrow anything free of charge!

In the 50+ years that I have been doing beach cleans, I have collected tonnes of beach plastics which, sadly,  continues to increase. Unfortunately, most of this is not recyclable so ends up going for incineration or landfill. Even most of the plastic bottles which have been in the sea for a while do not get recycled as I discovered on my visit to a recycling plant. The UV is affected so, just like black plastics, are not recognised by the computer sensors to divert them for recycling and therefore carry on until they reach the incinerator.
I recently opened my plastic-free shop (Our Precious Earth) and continue to think of ways to help make a difference to our environmental. I already stock plant pots, sunglasses and litter picking equipment made using fishing nets etc., so investigated if this is something I would be able to do to recycle the plastic found on local beaches. I found a company who are keen to help me do this with the machinery to shred the plastic which would then be fed into an injection machine to heat the plastic and released through a nozzle into a selected mould and released for finishing the product whether it be a frame for sunglasses, beads for jewellery or something more unusual. The possibilities are endless!
To make this happen, I have set up a Crowdfunding page at
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/our-precious-earth 
My target is £7,500 which would be enough to start the project. If I were to raise more, I would be able to increase the amount of equipment as ideally, this would become something bigger and be able to offer opportunities to those looking for new interests, meeting people and even help in education with design opportunities or finding out how plastic affects our environment through workshops. I would sell products through my business with the proceeds going to help marine conservation.
If you would like to find out more, please don't hesitate to get in touch. My email is: [email protected]. You can also contact me via Twitter @beachcomber50 or @ZeroWaste_Now
Many thanks, Keith
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This year's Great British Spring Clean ran from 17th March through until 2nd April with events across the country along with hundreds of individuals who did solo litter picks in towns and cities, coast and countryside.
I was pleased to be involved in my spare time alongside my new business so probably didn't do as much as I would have liked plus, I was feeling under the weather which turned out to be COVID-19. I still managed to collect over 10 bags of litter though and was joined by volunteers on a couple of occasions adding a further 9 bags to our total.
This event by Keep Britain Tidy also saw the Severn Estuary Partnership holding their Spring Clean plus Surfers Against Sewage organising The Million Mile Clean. All these events help to highlight the problem of litter in all parts of the environment. We hope that many of those who joined in will continue to 'Make a Difference'.

I'm back! But actually, I never went away and have quietly been continuing my beach cleans and litter picks in various areas. Unfortunately, I was dealing with mental health issues but I found my beach cleans were the best distraction and were the main thing that got me out of bed early each day. In the autumn as the days got shorter, I had to think about what else I could do to help myself. It was on a morning beach clean when I was finding lots of everyday plastic along the shore that I came up with the answer. There wasn't a shop in Minehead dedicated to everyday plastic free shopping. My daily beach walks were my best times to think about how I would set-up my business to make it different to other shops. I didn't just want to be a plastic-free shop, I wanted to create awareness of how waste has affected our environment using sustainable and recycled items as shop fittings.
Once I found suitable premises in the town, I drew up my business plan and searched for suppliers which cared passionately about the environment and didn't just want to make money but also give something back to the planet.
Once I had signed the lease and had a date to move in, I started designing the layout of my shop. I looked up the best eco-friendly paint companies and chose Little Greene who had a stockist in Minehead (The Colour Centre). For the flooring, initially I hoped to use carpet manufactured using plastic bottles or fishing nets but the order would take a few weeks to order which I was disappointing as I didn't have that long. I was recommended Seagrass flooring but as I was about to order it, I spotted an article about how it was becoming a threat to marine life. Eventually, I opted for Sisal which looks natural and is sustainable. For the underlay, I used a product using recycled vehicle tyres. For displaying the stock, I have used 60+ used wooden fruit crates which I have fixed together to keep them stable. I have also used some upcycled wood and scaffold boards which a friend no longer needed. Along with some used hessian coffee bean  sacks and some fishing net, rope etc., that I have collected from the beach, I had everything to fit out the shop ready for the stock
My shop sells a wide selection of everyday household goods, toiletries and gift ideas which include bags made from coffee sacks and bicycle inner tubes, jewellery made using recycled bicycle chain, skateboards and electrical wire plus litter pickers and sunglasses made by WATERHAUL made from 100% recycled fishing nets. Even my business cards are printed using natural inks on wild seeded card.
The shop opened on 11th February and people are quite excited about it and I get wonderful comments about the stock and how the shop looks. Please call in for a browse and say hello if you're in Minehead.
In the meantime, I'll still be out doing my beach cleans and countryside litter picks.
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While in Essex for a couple of days after my volunteering at the London Marathon, I decided to do a litter pick in the lovely village of Fyfield which is located two miles north of Ongar. The main road through the village is plagued with litter which has been thrown from vehicles passing through with most of the two sacks I collected being plastic bottles and cans. I also discovered two clear sacks and one black sack full of waste which had been dumped in a ditch at the side of the road, a carrier bag containing unused PPE, two estate agent signs and an undelivered parcel dumped in the undergrowth.
I contacted Epping Forest District Council who would come and pick up the three fly tipped bags and the litter I collected. I contacted the relevant estate agents who said they would get their sign contractor to pick them up and the parcel, I reported it to Yodel and informed the addressee who was pleased to get his parcel which was dated 12/07/2022.
I received lots of messages from residents of the village who were very grateful to me for tidying up a very busy road.

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This year, I was fortunate to volunteer at the London Marathon on behalf of Keep Britain Tidy to help with the sustainability.
Normally, the event takes place in April but due to Covid-19 restrictions last year, there would not have been time to organise it for the Spring so it was postponed until Sunday 2nd October 2022. However, bookings are now open for the 2023 event which returns in April.
I travelled up to Essex on the Saturday evening ready to get the tube early on Sunday morning as I had to be on The Mall by 8:30am. There were lots of runners on the tube making their way to the start line at Greenwich with the elite wheelchair men's and women's races commencing at 8:50 followed by the elite women's race starting 10 minutes later with the elite men's race and mass event at 9:40.
After checking in at the volunteer registration point, as team leader, I was given our kit for the day and a packed lunch. We had our briefing before going over to Horse Guards Parade which would be the 'Finish Area' where runners would meet up with their family, friends and their chosen charities. The first job was to set up 'Waste Stations'  using barriers and refuse bins where recyclables would be separated from general waste. Unfortunately, people had already used the bins so we had to empty them all and start again. Once everything was ready, families were arriving and the helicopters overhead signalled that the first entrants were on their way.
The winning runner of this year's London Marathon was Amos Kipruto of Kenya with a time of 2:04:39. First on the Women's race was Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia in 2:17:26. For the Wheelchair Men's race, Marcel Hug of Switzerland crossed the finish line in 1:24:40 and Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland winning the Wheelchair Women's race in 1:38:24.
Although heavy rain was forecast, the sun was out and it became quite warm on the sheltered square but a cool breeze made it perfect conditions for the runners.
By midday, Horse Guards Parade was filling up fast and we were getting busy supervising people with their rubbish. It became apparent that too many people have still not got their head around recycling with many using the wrong bin which meant we had to retrieve and correct it  while others stopped and looked a bit confused when they saw different bins. Sadly, it seemed to be the minority that found it easy! Anyway, it all kept us busy for the rest of the day with a couple of us going off with litter pickers to start collecting the plastic water bottles, empty Prosecco bottles, foil blankets etc. which were starting to litter the area. 
We kept going until just after 6pm when the bins were full and locked up ready for collection later in the night. I walked down Whitehall to Parliament Square and the Embankment to watch the last entrants struggling  to finish before the 'Sweep Bus' came along to collect those who wouldn't finish before the closing time of 7:30pm.
Hopefully, I'll return on Sunday 23rd April 2023 where we'll do it all again!
You might be interested to know that the 3 dumpy bags of beach plastics I collected at the start of the year went towards 4 tons of beach plastics which were recycled and used for the mile markers (see above photo) along the route. 
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Over the past few months, I have been considering how I can expand on my litter picking, recycling and waste visits etc. and have come up with an 'Environmental Roadshow' where I would travel around Britain promoting and getting more people involved in litter picking, recycling and generally taking more care of our environment.
I'm in London this weekend volunteering with the London Marathon on their Sustainability Team. Once I've done there, I will post more information about my project on here.
In the meantime, please visit my fundraising page at: 
https://crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-great-british-tidy-up
or use this QR Code:
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This report has been reproduced by kind permission of Waterhaul.
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Litter picking or beach cleaning is a great way to play your part in tackling the plastic pollution crisis locally, but did you know that it can also improve your mental health and wellbeing?


The act of picking up litter from the ground is a simple action, but also an incredibly important one given that more than two million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK every day. However, its benefits aren’t just limited to the environment. 

Public Health England has recommended litter picking as a good way to boost mental and physical health, and there is a growing body of scientific research to support this. At Waterhaul, we’ve experienced first hand how recovering plastic pollution from the Cornish coastline makes us feel good and so we thought it was worth delving into the science to explore why. 

Given that litter picking has no age limit and can be carried out in any location, it is a very accessible activity, and can even be prescribed by health practitioners to improve people's wellbeing (known as green social prescribing). It can be something to keep the kids occupied, a group bonding activity for colleagues, a way for you to get outside and spend time in nature or an event anyone can get involved in with their local environmental group. So with all that in mind, how does litter picking help to improve your mental well-being?

1. LITTER PICKING KEEPS YOU ACTIVE

Litter picking is a perfect excuse to get outside for some fresh air!

The benefits of physical activity for our mental health are well known, as well as its ability to improve sleep, and create feelings of improved self-efficacy and confidence1. Litter picking is the perfect physical activity for those wanting to be more active and it can be taken at whatever pace suits you. 

It is also great if you prefer to have a purpose to your visit to the park or the beach, giving that sense of motivation to get out and get those steps in. This allows you to enjoy the physical and mental benefits of litter picking, whilst also exploring new places you might not have ventured before. 

Already active? Why not try adding a new dynamic to your exercise by incorporating quick litter picks into your outdoors adventures (we recommend compact, folding litter pickers for this), or perhaps even through plogging (a Swedish trend, consisting of a combination of jogging and picking up litter!).


2. LITTER PICKING KEEPS YOU IN THE PRESENT

Litter picking is a great way to switch off and live in the present.
Searching for litter requires some level of concentration which can distract you from worrisome thoughts. This can help you to live in the present moment, as opposed to your mind wandering into unwanted thoughts of the past or future.

A scientific study explored this, focusing on how the process of litter picking can be used as a tool in art therapy in an attempt to bridge the psychological barriers to engagement with the outer world. Findings showed that the process of searching for discarded items made it easier for the individual to live in the present moment and helped to connect the outside world to their personal inner world. 


3. LITTER PICKING CREATES A SENSE OF COMMUNITY

Litter picks are ideal for meeting new people in your local communities.

Whilst solo litter picks are always a brilliant option, there are also plenty of opportunities to share the experience with others.


Taking part in a local litter pick and actively spending time participating in your community can help you meet new people and enhance your sense of belonging. Establishing that sense of community can be important for overall health and wellbeing, particularly for individuals experiencing loneliness and isolation, which has become even more widespread due to the pandemic.

Scientific studies have documented the benefits of this involvement for those with serious mental illnesses, however, the health and social benefits are relevant for us all. 

If you want to get involved in any litter picks with environmental organisations, here are some of our recommendations: 

• Cleanup UK 
• Clean Up Britain 
• Surfers Against Sewage 
• Marine Conservation Society 
• Beach Guardian 
• UOcean​

4. LITTER PICKING IS EASY TO FIT INTO A BUSY LIFESTYLE

Whether your litter pick takes 2 minutes, 20 minutes or 2 hours, every piece of litter removed from the environment makes a difference!

With all the environmental challenges we face, it can be overwhelming to know where to start to be part of creating positive change.

Litter picking however, is a perfect meaningful activity that gives quick and rewarding satisfaction, allowing you to make a small but important impact in a short space of time. Litter picking provides anyone with the ability to drive positive change in their local environment. This adds an element of control, in a world where helplessness can be a common feeling shared amongst us. 
A great organisation is The 2 Minute Foundation, who encourage and inspire you to take two minutes of your time to clean up the planet. This is a great idea if you have a busy schedule but still want to see a planet without litter and plastic pollution – plus you might find one of our litter pickers made from recycled fishing nets on their beachside stands!

5. DOING GOOD FEELS GOOD!
Cleaning up the environment is a rewarding feeling!
Littering picking can bring that feel-good factor, as it provides a sense of achievement and can really boost your mood. With negative news cycles and rising eco-anxiety, we need this now more now than ever.
By providing exposure to the natural environment, evidence has shown that those who litter pick can obtain a variety of psychological health benefits such as reduced stress, restored cognitive ability, and increased connection to nature4. 
We find litter picking can be particularly rewarding after stormy weather, which is also a time when people have typically been locked up indoors. It can be especially reinvigorating to head to the coastline after wild weather, when lots of plastic pollution has washed ashore. 
So, there you have it! Little effort is required and important benefits are gained, why not give it a try? And of course, don't forget to equip yourself with our recycled litter picking gear before you go!

References
1. Physical activity and mental health: the association between exercise and mood, Peluso and Guerra de Andrade, 2005
2. Found objects in art therapy, Brooker 2010
3. The influence of sense of community on the relationship between community participation and mental health for individuals with serious mental illnesses, Terry et al., 2018
4. The beach as a setting for families’ health promotion: A qualitative study with parents and children living in coastal regions in Southwest England, Ashbullby et al., 2013

I enjoy trying out new equipment which might make a difference to my litter picks, especially if they help the environment and Waterhaul is definately one of those companies!
Based in Newquay on the North Cornish coast, Waterhaul's founder, Harry Dennis was working as a marine scientist before working for a charity project engaging community action on plastic pollution. Having travelled the world for research and adventure, Harry witnessed the huge amount of lost fishing nets, known as 'ghost fishing' just floating across the oceans which is a big problem to all sea life and decided to investigate options to use these nets which often wash up on beaches during rough seas. I've found some myself washed up on beaches which are impossible to move without cutting down first, particularly on the Hebridean islands.
After many months of recycling trials using these nets, Waterhaul produced the first prototype in 2018 - a pair of sunglasses. The frames are made 100% from fishing net and have a lifetime warranty meaning they will replace and recycle your frames forever! The Barberini Glass Lenses  are the best available on the market. Have a look on their website.

Back to litter picking equipment, the first item I tried out was Waterhaul's  Beach Clean Bag. Priced at just £8.50, the bag is hand-made from upcycled  sails, a very tough high quality fabric which can be used over and over again in place of disposable refuse bags which often have to be disposed of at the end of a litter pick after sorting the recyclables. The bags look great too! However, any sharp objects could damage the bag so please be aware of that. After use, you can empty the bag out for sorting and recycling and give the bag a quick rinse out and hang up to dry ready to use again.

Waterhaul also created a folding litter picker where the handle, trigger and jaw components are made using 100% polypropylene fishing gear. The aluminium profile section allows you to easily access the cord which I had to adjust a couple of times during my first use. Although it's a great sustainable tool, I would be careful who I gave one to on my litter picks as I'm not sure they would take much rough treatment. That's not to say I wouldn't recommend them as they are a great product. A big plus is they are easily folded to put in your bag or back pack so you're not carrying it around the shops etc. when you've finished your litter pick and trying to buy something and then after you have paid, realising you left the shop without it!
The litter pickers are available in different sizes and start from £12.00 each. 

Waterhaul make other products too including bag hoops and knives so have a look at their website which has their full story and lots more. You can also sign up to receive 10% off your first order.  Visit them at: https://waterhaul.co
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Last week, I was fortunate enough to be invited on a tour of Grundon's Materials Recovery Facility (MRFs) and Energy From Waste Facility (EFW) at Colnbrook near Slough. As part of a group from The Felix Project (a food charity where I volunteer when in London), after our Health and Safety talk and donning our PPE, we walked up the the huge site which opened in 2012. Vehicles are continually arriving through the day with mixed recycling as well as general waste. The first area we saw was the yard where a crane was picking up metal units including filing cabinets which were crushed down while another area had bales of paper, plastics, and cans etc which were also baled up to take off site to be reprocessed and turned into new products. Once inside the building, we watched the process as recyclables travelled along conveyor belts where paper and card travels along while other recyclables drop through to a lower belt where a team of people were sorting any non-recyclables from the belt before the next area where a series of magnets collect any ferrous metals while another sensor recognises non-ferous metals including drinks cans. Glass is then passed through a sensor which will be diverted to another collection point.  From here plastics are recognised by sensors where a blast of air magically sends them into the right direction whilst the remaining non-recyclables carry on their journey. 
We walked to another part of the building where we got a lift up to the 5th floor to see the control room and where we could see the EFW operations. In a corner of the room, a man was sitting on an 'armchair' with joysticks doing what many people do on holiday! If you imagine one of that machines full of soft toys which you to try to win by putting a coin in to operate the crane but on a much bigger scale, this member of the team has a job sitting there and doing the same except his huge crane with giant claws can lift a load of waste equivalent to a refuse lorry full which is carried across to the incinerator and released to burn at around 1200c. The waste which is burned generates 37 megawatts every hour into the National Grid which is enough to power about 50,000 homes. Another transformer diverts electricity back into the plant to power itself.
If like I did, you have concerns about air pollution from the burning of this waste, the burned remains are sorted to get any metal items which might have ended up in the incinerator then the ash is graded to use larger pieces for road building while smaller pieces will be used in building blocks. Another filter in the chimney will remove any pollutants such as lime before the remaining discharge is released into the air which, you will be amazed to know is better air than is already there! Tests were done which found air quality in that area was polluted by Heathrow and other industries but the emissions from the Grundon site help to improve this.
There are 7 Grundon Waste Transfer Stations around southern England which you may have seen one or two of near the M5 or M4. I've wondered what went on inside so was pleased to find out. I hope you know a bit about it now too! 
​You can find out more on their website at Grundon.com plus some videos on YouTube.