The Marine Conservation Society is making changes to its annual Great British Beach Clean in light of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Marine Conservation Society is making changes to its annual Great British Beach Clean in light of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Instead of the large beach clean events where hundreds of volunteers get involved, the Society is asking people to come together in small private groups to clean beaches, adopting a stretch of beach to tackle. 

The event will take place on the 18-25 September and the website makes it really easy to sign up. If you’re looking for guidance and support, their friendly Beachwatch team is happy to lend a hand.

Lizzie Prior, Beachwatch Officer, says: “As more of us are looking to stay local this summer and head to the UK’s beaches, it’s even more important that we all take ownership of keeping them beautiful for everyone.”

We’d love to see more people than ever before signing up to organise their own beach clean. The more organisers we have, the more beach cleans we can run throughout the week and the more data we’ll have to push for policy which will reduce ocean pollution in the future.”

Data collected by the Society’s  volunteers has been instrumental in the creation of policies which stop single-use plastic pollution at source. Examples of this include the 5p single-use carrier bag charge, the ban on plastic coffee stirrers and straws and the commitment to a Deposit Return Scheme in Scotland, to name just a few. 

This year the society is also asking volunteers to record how much personal protective equipment they find on the UK’s beaches, including gloves and masks. This information will show how prolific PPE has become and help us assess the danger it poses to the marine environment and wildlife.

Dr Laura Foster, Head of Clean Seas says: “Single-use plastic has been used increasingly during the pandemic, but we need to ensure this is not a permanent backwards step. At the same time, we’ve seen people spending more time outdoors and enjoying our beaches. We’re calling on the government for a truly green recovery, fit for a low carbon future.”

Everyone can play their part in the Great British Beach Clean this September, even when far from the coast as 80% of the pollution on beaches around the UK is from litter which has travelled from our towns, parks and rivers.  

To get involved head over to https://www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/ to find out more about conserving our beaches. 

By Ellen Jones