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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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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