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
It's been one of the driest and hottest summers on record in 2022 which sadly means even more litter around. Many wildfires broke out across the country and use of disposable barbecues did not help. My mission to reduce and inform people about litter continues so I've been out every day and always feel humbled when people stop and say "thank you" then have a chat about the problem of litter. I spent a few hours on Minehead Beach earlier in the month with the 'Nurdle Trommel' which is provided by Severn Estuary Partnership to 'Plastic Free Minehead' and sponsored by Viridor. The Trommel is a large drum which you put sand into then turn the handle to sift the sand and remove anything which shouldn't be in it. We had lots of willing volunteers to join in and families enjoyed taking part in beach cleaning. Lots of people said how much fun they had doing it so hopefully, we've encouraged lots more people to think about how they can make a difference to the environment.
I'm always finding an assortment of things left behind on the beach and as you can see, somebody thought it was fine to leave a dingy, blanket and bag of kindling behind. It surprises me how people spend their money then when they've finished with it, can't be bothered to take it away. This was at 10am and I spoke with a nearby family who said it was there when they arrived an hour earlier so I asked them if they were staying for a while and to keep an eye on it in case any children were tempted to try the dingy out. As my car was back at Blue Anchor, it was too much for me to take it away so I drove over to Minehead later to retrieve it all. Leaving anything behind on the beach is not acceptable but a dingy could cause allorts of problems such as children using it unsupervised without knowing the dangers or a gust of wind might blow it into the sea which could spark a search in case anyone had been in it and might need rescuing. I will be out most mornings to check what's on the beach as well as walking on Exmoor and clearing up any litter I see. Please visit my blog again soon and see what else I've been up to! Today, I'm reviewing a beach clean bag from www.beachcleanbag.co.uk which I tested out on at breezy afternoon on Bossington beach in Porlock Bay.
The bag is produced in a heavyweight woven polypropylene fabric making it one of the safest plastics to use and manufactured in the UK. The large bag is ideal for litter picks, especially where there is plenty of rubbish to collect. The first advantage I found was where starting my beach clean on a windy location, a plastic sack is often difficult to use and when using a hoop, I sometimes find the wind can blow lightweight items e.g. crisp packets out of the sack. This bag has the advantage of having velcro fixings and as you can see in the centre picture, you can restrict the opening. I often find fishing line tangled up in huge clumps of seaweed and have to put my litter picking equipment down to remove the line from the seaweed whereas using this bag, I only have to tuck the litter picker under my arm to do it and don't need to worry about litter coming out of the bag. The other big advantage of this bag is the shoulder strap which takes the strain off the arm when carrying large amounts of litter. I often do beach cleans where I find large items which are difficult to carry along with a sack or two of rubbish so the shoulder strap makes this much easier. There are small straps on either side of the bag to carry it instead of using the shoulder strap and for lifting the bag into the boot of the car. I would definately recommend this bag to anyone out on litter picks and intending sorting the litter for recycling afterwards. The price of the bag is around £14.00 from Amazon but can be ordered direct for groups looking for a quantity discount from as little as £8.70 each. Believe it or not, litter picks are quite a social thing to do. Although I do the majority litter picks alone, it might surprise you how many people start up a conversation. Often, people will say "thank you" or ask how much I've collected and a conversation will go on from there. I was on the beach one morning and a visitor said hello while out with her spaniel puppy. I saw her most mornings and on her last day, she walked a short stretch of beach as I litter picked and at first didn't spot things I was picking up but it wasn't long before she saw them too! After a few hundred metres, she turned to head back but commented how therapeutic it was and she decided she would start doing it when she returned home. Another recruit!
While out walking the moors, people greet each other as they pass by whilst walking in urban areas, people don't or do they? On a recent visit to North London, I had a coffee at Paliament Hill Fields and then took a walk on Hampstead Heath as it was such a beautiful morning. I walked for around an hour and passed many people walking their dogs, running or like me having a stroll. I think 2 people said good morning. The following morning, I did the same thing but this time, I took my litter picking equipment as I had seen plastic bottles, food packaging etc from picnics and filled a sack in around 45 minutes. I lost count of how many people said good morning and had a couple of conversations about litter. It was very encouraging. After I finished there, I carried on litter picking during a walk over to Belsize Park where I had arranged to meet up with Bob (Robert Stephenson-Padron) (Bob) who has recently been awarded the OBE for services to social care. Bob is the driving force behind Belsize Village which has been transformed from what used to be rather untidy with empty businesses but is now home to 'London's First Streatery' which is now full of thriving businesses and people being able to sit and enjoy food and drink in a beautiful setting with planters full of colour and a litter free area thanks to the hard work of owners and residents volunteering their time each day to keep it looking so good. This is a fine example of how other towns and businesses could encourage more footfall back into their community. You can find out more about this at: www.belsizevillage.org.uk
Although I've been quiet on here lately, I've not stopped my litter picks and beach cleans, finding more vintage litter which you see in a couple of photos above. One is a St. Michael Strawberry Yogurt pot priced at 6p from around 1980 which was washed up on Blue Anchor beach one morning last week. The other one is more unusual. In 1976, Horlicks Dairies which had depots across Somerset, decided it would be a good idea to change from glass bottles of milk to plastic sachets. This would allow shops to be able to store all of the milk in the fridge rather than keeping what bottles didn't fit in, out in the warmth of the hot summer. The sachet fitted into a plastic jug and then you would cut the corner off and pour. I was working at the shop on Dunster Beach at the time people found it difficult to cope with and if they didn't have the jug, the milk went everywhere! However, I recall one morning when we received our delivery of around 300 pints and stacked it in the fridge. About an hour later, there seemed to be a leak somewhere before customers began coming in saying they had lost their milk in the fridge. By lunchtime, there was milk pouring out of the shop fridge as all the bags gradually came apart due a a fault on the seal meaning thousands upon thousands of pints of milk across Somerset went to waste. I'm pleased to say that it wasn't long before Horlicks Dairies returned to the returnable glass bottle saving what could have been millions of plastic milk bags around in our environment. Anyway, I found this milk bag last week, again washed in on the tide, on the beach between Dunster Beach and Minehead. As you can see, the bag has not broken down in the sea at all in 46 years!
As the header says, it's not all about litter. One morning last week, when the weather was breaking new records with temperatures above 40c in some parts of the country, I was doing a beach clean before it was too hot. I started at Blue Anchor and followed the tide line, past Dunster Beach and planning going as far as Minehead. However, halfway along the coast of the golf course, I spotted a Common Gull on the pebbles. It's unusual to see this so I went towards it which panicked it as it tried to fly off but it just stumbled on the pebbles. I calmed it down and eventually it let me pick it up. I walked back to Dunster Beach with it and called in to see the site manager Steve who gave me a box to put the gull in and take to the vet. I gave it some water which it drunk plenty of and carried it back to my car at Blue Anchor. It went off to the vet but sadly, it didn't survive as it had a broken leg but mainly because it was so dehydrated having been stranded on the pebbles, probably for at least 8 hours since the last high tide. At least it wasn't left in the hot sun to die or perhaps attacked by other birds or a dog. The other photo shows two numbered rings from the remains of a dead racing pigeon I found washed up on the shore near Blue Anchor last week. I removed the rings and when I got home, I logged the details and got the owner's mobile phone number so sent him the sad news on a text. I had a lovely message back thanking me for letting him know what had happened. The pigeon had been released in St. Malo, France last year so the owner was pleased I had let him know what had happened to it. I am out doing a beach clean in West Somerset most mornings and with the summer weather with us and more people around, I often get people stopping to come and talk saying how grateful they are to me for making a difference which makes it even more worthwhile! On May Bank Holiday Monday, I returned to Stolford Beach (left photo) as I've not been for a few weeks. About a mile up the coast from Hinkley Point, there was plenty of rubbish washed up on the tide line of which nearly 100% was plastic waste. Mostly plastic bottles, other plastic included food containers, hair and beauty packaging including remains of two combs, a three metre length of upvc trim, part of an oar and a cement bag which I filled with fishing line I collected. The other item I find more of here than at any other site is cable ties. With such a huge construction site close by, this is a concern to how many there could be out in the channel. I spent 90 minutes here having collected plenty to take back to the car.
After I left, I returned home via Lilstock Beach (right photo) which is a couple of miles down the coast from Hinkley Point. Again, nearly everything I collected was plastic including the remains of a garden chair. At the top of the beach below the footpath is a WW2 Pill Box which, when I looked down inside, is being used as a huge litter bin for mainly food and drink litter. The doorway is on the inland side but not accessible due to brambles etc. The only way in is to climb down inside but not alone in case of accident. This is something I shall attempt when I can get some help to clean up soon (I hope!). As always, everything I collected was sorted and recycled where possible. Having lived in Belsize Park, North London for a short time during the 1980's, I've recently read with interest how the local businesses have helped themselves to rejuvenate their local area and opened London's first 'Streatery'. I recently paid a visit to see for myself what they've been up to.
It was a lovely sunny morning when I caught the bus to Archway and walked a route I used to do almost daily passing the famous Highgate Cemetery to Holly Village with it's beautiful gothic style buildings. From here, it was a walk past the tennis courts at Parliament Hill Fields, where I played tennis during the summer evenings, and across Hampstead Heath to Well Walk and Flask Walk then down the High Street to Belsize Park. I walked along Glenloch Road (opposite the tube station), where I used to live, and around the corner to Belsize Village where I spotted a gentleman in a suit and camel coat with a bucket and picking up some litter. I guessed right away that this was Bob Stephenson-Padron who I had been in touch with and he asked me to visit when in the area. We sat in Roni's Bakery/Deli and had a coffee while Bob told me how the local businesses had worked together to encourage more people to visit this quiet spot away from the main footfall area. One problem to deal with was flytipping and litter from people's rubbish outside of their properties which instantly made a difference. Camden Council were initially hesitant to allow tables and chairs to be allowed on the open paved area but with traffic banned and new planters in place, it has transformed this small square, which was rather scruffy on my last visit, into a place that people want to visit and relax whether it's someone on business grabbing a coffee while having a conversation or reading emails on their phone or friends and families enjoying the atmosphere of a peaceful square which is hard to believe is a stone's throw from London's West End. Belsize Village's shops now include Roni's Bakery/Deli, a greengrocers, newsagents, Indian restaurant, hair and beauty shop plus others with just one remaining premises vacant which is in the process of being occupied. There are still more plans in the pipeline to improve the site even further of which much of the hard work is done by Bob who is the co-head of Belsize Village Business Association (BVBA). There are also a group of people who volunteer as litter pickers around the area which is a huge benefit to the businesses as anywhere can look more inviting if there is no litter in sight. During my visit, I was also welcomed by local Councillor Oliver Cooper who is proud of what has been achieved here. After a photo of the three of us (above), I had some lunch before heading off back to Archway for the bus. I really enjoyed visiting this hidden jewel in North London today and hope it won't be long before I return, complete with my Belsize Village hi-vis vest and litter picker, to enjoy a bit more time there. You can keep up to date with daily life here on twitter @BelsizeVillage Today, I attended the Plastic Free Porlock Vale Spring Beach Clean where lots of members of the local community turned out to join the annual event. Meeting at the National Trust car park in Bossington, there was a bonus of tea, coffee and cake!
After a chest injury last week, I've been having a fairly restful few days and so I was out to look for lightweight litter which I found plenty of in the way of plastic bottle tops and fishing line. Anything heavier, I left for others to collect although I'm pleased to say there wasn't a lot in the area I concentrated on. Tomorrow, I shall be supporting the beach clean from Blue Anchor to Dunster. I did walk along there a couple of times during the week but my injury prevented me picking anything up which was so difficult so had to make sure I didn't have a bag on me to put anything in! Hopefully, I think I'm on the mend now but have to limit what I do so that I recover quickly. On this bright and sunny but very blustery morning, I walked up the lane to a favourite viewpoint above the village of Old Cleeve. From here, there are stunning views of the local countryside including North Hill, Dunkery, the Brendon Hills, the Quantocks and across the Bristol Channel as far down as the Gower Peninsula. There are many evenings when I sit on the bench here and enjoy a stunning sunset over Exmoor.
I feel very fortunate to live somewhere with such beautiful views with quiet country lanes where there are few vehicles passing by. However, not everyone shares my thoughts and won't think twice about throwing their food or drink packaging from the vehilcle as they drive along. This morning was one of those days. On my walk home, I had to keep into the hedge to let a delivery pass as he rushed from one address to another. A little further on, I spotted a McDonalds drink cup and straw in the hedge which I didn't notice earlier on my walk up. I had not seen any other vehicles go past and when I retrieved it, my suspicions were confirmed as there were still plenty of ice cubes in it. I have sent an email to the delivery company explaining that littering is unacceptable anywhere but that drivers should repect the local environment of their customers and I request they speak with drivers about it. I await their response! |
AuthorBorn in West Somerset, I have always been proud of where I live and want everyone else to enjoy it too! Archives
September 2022
Categories |