HELPING TO CLEAN UP OUR COAST AND COUNTRYSIDE
I first discovered the beautiful Hebridean island of Islay ten years ago and we have returned many times since. It has many different types of beaches around it's 130 miles of coastline of sand dunes, rocky coves and pebble beaches. The Atlantic Ocean washes the west shores of Islay where the next landfall is St John's, Newfoundfoundland being 2000 miles away.
Sadly, the west coast is where so much marine litter gets washed up on every tide and during my stay on Islay, I made sure I had my litter picking equipment with me at every beach I visited. The open sandy beaches were fairly free of litter except for a few items such as the photo above showing a plastic castle sand bucket just washed up on Saligo Bay. I didn't think there was much else until I got to the northern end of the beach where the pebbles were collecting hundreds of plastic bottle tops and small strips of plastic coating from lobster catchers. Another beach I went to was at Ardnave Point which has a mixture of sand dunes and rocks which is where I found a huge amount of net washed up. Unfortunately, most of it was caught in the sand making it impossible to move. While there, I also collected three sacks of other waste plus a couple of barrels and crates which was a real struggle to carry the thirty minute walk to the car. Every beach seemed to have something different for me such as the sole of a shoe I found in a rock pool at Kilchiaran Bay and when I picked it up found lots of Gooseneck Barnacles very much alive as were a lot more living on a Heinz Tomato Ketchup plastic bottle. I decided these items would have to remain where I found them as there was plenty more for me to find such as the tyres I found washed up in another little cove a couple of hundred metres along the coast. Again, I couldn't take them away but put them well away from the sea so that they wouldn't be washed away again. The other photo shows what remains of many plastic bottles I found but there was so much more which was even smaller. In total during my two week stay on Islay, I collected 27 sacks of marine litter. Each weighed an average of 22kg giving a total of 594kgs. On top of this were the barrels, crates, tyres and oil drums which I either removed from site or put well away from the sea above the high tide line. The refuse team from Argyll and Bute Council were very good at taking away what I had collected and also supplied me with sacks. On the last couple of days during my stay, I visited Kintra Beach which is known locally as The Big Strand. It has 7 miles of sand and clear sea but was very quiet. In fact the first day we visited, Netta and myself were the only two people on the beach. The next day, I returned to do one final beach clean. As I walked along the tide line collecting what plastic had washed up, I noticed a lady in the distance walking towards me on the tide line with a bag picking things up. At last! Someone else doing the same as me I thought. As we met, I said "Are you collecting litter too?" She replied "No, seashells but there seems to be more plastic than shells." We chatted about how lovely the island is and how it was her first time on Islay. It did make me feel rather sad though. This lady was happy to pick up things which belong on the shore but didn't think to pick up anything which shouldn't be there. I know everyone likes something to remember from their holiday, but just taking away some marine litter, much of which has been washed clean by the sea, even a couple of pieces would make a difference. I know there are many island residents including the Islay Development Initiative who regularly go on beach cleans. Until we stop using plastics, this is a never ending challenge.
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It's been a busy week doing beach cleans in my spare time with clean ups at Porlock Weir, Bossington Beach, Blue Anchor and Dunster Beach. At Porlock Weir, I collected a sackful of mixed plastics over the space of an hour including lots of fishing line. From there I moved to Bossington Beach where I found lots more plastic but also a large canister containing the remains of 25 litres of paint thinners. I'm pleased to report that when I got it home to test it, there wasn't any sea water in it which is a relief that no contents had leaked out. On the same day, I headed over to Dunster Beach and did a walk along to Blue Anchor and back. The most common I collected was various items of clothing washed up including a cardigan, child's hat, one sock, one glove, three separate flip flops, a tee shirt and the remains of a towel, all which are heavy to carry when soaked in sea water!
Yesterday, I returned to Dunster Beach and headed west to collect beach litter as far as Warren Point and again found plenty including a piece of vintage litter in the form of the remains of a Kia Ora Orange Drink which has obviously been floating around in the sea for a few decades. I also found six golf balls lost from the adjoining golf course and as always, recycled them by passing them on to golfers who are always grateful. Well, I'm having break from litter picking on Exmoor and the West Somerset coastline for couple of weeks while I take a well earned holiday on the Hebridean island of Islay. Of course, I'm taking my litter picking equipment with me and will be spending lots of time exploring everything that Islay has to offer, including the nine (count them) nine distilleries! I'll keep you posted of my adventures. My latest litter pick was part of a community event for 'Plastic Free Watchet'. Many towns and villages across the country are working towards becoming 'Plastic Free' as part of campaign run by marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage. Watchet is not alone in West Somerset by having this status. Minehead and Porlock Vale have also received this award with Exmoor soon to join them.
My wife Netta and I took our own equipment along and started as soon as we got out of the car as there was plenty of litter there. Once that was tidy, we walked up to West Beach to see what had been left or washed up there. We found the usual drinks cans and plastic bottles, lots of other plastic, a heavy piece of material, a plastic sandal and a couple of glass bottles. There was also a piece of branch with lots of fishing line tangled up with some bird deterrent spikes which could have been dangerous to both wildlife and humans. At the top of the beach below the sea wall, our time was taken up by picking up cigarette butts which had been dropped over the wall by smokers who are oblivious to the harm these cause to sea life. As well as plastic, cigarette filters are comprised of thousands of chemical ingredients including arsenic, lead and nicotine. These are very toxic to fish could easily see a cigarette butt floating around in the sea as potential food. Once we left the beach, we walked through the town to the group meeting point at Splash Point. Again, there was plenty of litter to collect on our way including lots more cigarette butts, especially outside licensed premises. The photo above shows another litter source being an overfilled wheelie bin. Being a Sunday lunchtime, it probably wasn't even collection day. Seagulls and weather could help scatter this rubbish around the streets. Businesses can easily do their bit to make their local area more attractive to potential customers by having a tidy up outside their premises each day as they open up. A good business model is Belsize Village NW3 who noticed how footfall had fallen drastically and businesses were closing down. The community got together and tidied the area up, organised better refuse collections and recycling, planters were put along the square with plenty of seating added. It is now considered to be the tidiest area in London and new businesses have filled the area which now boasts having London's first 'Streatery'. Back to Watchet, around twenty people joined in the clean up event with everything which was collected being recycled where possible. The event ended with a community picnic, plastic free, of course! |
AuthorBorn in West Somerset, I have always been proud of where I live and want everyone else to enjoy it too! Archives
September 2022
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