HELPING TO CLEAN UP OUR COAST AND COUNTRYSIDE
It's been a busy time on the beaches across the country on one of the driest years for a long time as well as temperatures breaking all time records of over 40 degrees in many places. During the peak of it, I was doing my litter picks early in the morning whenever I could. There was a big increase in the use of disposable bbq's over the summer which were the cause of many fires due to misuse and tinder dry countryside. I found the remains of these on many occasions where people thought it fine to leave behind.
As Summer draws to a close and Autumn fast approaches, the weather will change with rougher seas as there was this week after the bank holiday weekend when a NE onshore wind brought some big waves and with those, lots of rubbish. One day this week as I walked along the beach from Blue Anchor to Dunster Beach and Minehead, the tide was in and the wind was literally blowing plastic bottles off the sea in front of me as if the sea was relieved to be throwing the plastic back where it belongs - on land for recycling. On this beach clean, I found a total of 68 plastic bottles which is one of the largest amounts I have found in one beach clean. Some other finds included a 10L plastic can which contained around 6L of fuel which was seeping out very slowly from the cap. I removed it although not sure what I'm going to do with it yet! Another concerning find washed in was a full pack of Fluoxetine capsules which are an antidepressant for the treatment of major depressive disorder. I'm pleased I found these before any children arrived to play on the sand. The following day on another beach, I discovered a syringe with needle washed up. This was a beach of large pebbles so luckily not as higher risk of someone stepping on it with bare feet. When I find these, I put them into a plastic bottle with a lid on until I can dispose of them safely. I will continue going out most days when I can to make a difference to our environment. Here is a breakdown of the items I collected on this occasion: 68 plastic bottles, 8 drinks cans, 4 aerosol cans, 1 glass bottle, 1 broken bottle, 216 pieces of hard plastic, 94 pieces of flexible plastic, 17 items of clothing/accessories, 32 pieces of polystyrene larger than 5cmX5cm, unknown amount of polystyrene smaller than 5cmX5cm, 16 pieces of foam/rubber, 6 small metal items, 9 items of fishing related line/net, 1 pair of ear defenders, 1 10L plastic can containing approximately 6L fuel and 17 beach toys. All of this will be recycled where possible including the beach toys which go to the new Beach Toy Library in Minehead where people can help themselves to things they want to use on the sand then return after use.
1 Comment
Peter Hoyland
9/3/2022 02:07:04 am
A really interesting update Keith and thank you for all your work in helping to keep the West Somerset and Exmoor coastline litter free.
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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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