Across this year local community group Planet Aware (PA) IW has removed over 1.5 tons of litter from our coast.
The recent winter storms have left some of the Island’s most beautiful beaches and coves overwhelmed with large volumes of litter and debris.
Andrew Dean, a PA volunteer, said,
“With the increased storms, more of our discarded items and mismanaged waste is being washed into shore. It’s a challenge to retrieve the debris, often up steps and over fields, it’s certainly been a way of keeping fit this year! It’s frustrating that the steps have been damaged recently as we want to get back to some of these areas.
“On certain beaches over 60 per cent of what we collect comes from shipping and fishing related items. We also find everyday items we all use in our day-to-day lives, including plastic bottles and beach toys, helium balloons, clothing, shoes and literally anything you can think of turns up in time!”
260 kg cleared in just a few hours
At a recent Clean Up at Watershoot Bay, a stunning beach in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) close to St Catherine’s light house, Planet Aware volunteers cleared 260 kg in just a few hours.
It was sad to see so much debris, as well as unfortunately, a dead seal and a dolphin, victims of the storms. However, it was really rewarding to see the difference that was made not just visually, but also by the removal of items that would have otherwise washed back into the sea, polluting and potentially harming marine wildlife.
Seb: It motivates you to think about the all the waste we produce
Seb another PA volunteer, said,
“When you see so much ‘rubbish’ on the beach it motivates you to think about the all the stuff and the waste we produce and what we can do to stop it polluting our planet.
“It’s not just the big stuff that’s the issue!”
111 cigarette butts
On some beaches smaller items are found which are not as obvious, but equally damaging.
In one survey in the summer, Planet Aware found 111 cigarette butts on Ventnor beach.
They are consistently in the top five items found on UK beaches and can take 14 years to degrade, while releasing a cocktail of chemicals and microplastics.
Nurdles
Nurdles, very small pellets of plastic which serves as raw material in the manufacture of plastic products, are found in significant numbers too.
Planet Aware are networked through FIDRA* with others across the globe monitoring nurdles and tracking the impact of container spillages.
The consequences of consumer behaviour
With Christmas on the horizon the group is mindful of how our consumer behaviour has consequences for the Ocean and Planet.
We are faced with so much expectation and advertising to convince us to buy buy buy more stuff, perhaps taking a moment to think about how our level of consumption impacts the future of our oceans and what this means for those we care for. The gift of a healthy planet far outweighs anything we can buy.
From the PA Committee
Volunteers have worked really hard this year and we are keen to expand our projects. We would love to hear from more people with skills and time to bring to the group and we are always grateful for financial or other support.
If you would like to support our community group all of whom volunteer, you can help us make a difference and donate via Buy Me A Coffee website and support us as your local Co-op cause or just get in touch [email protected]
*FIDRA – a Scottish group collating data about pollution, particularly Nurdles (named after an Island in the Firth of the Forth).
News shared by Andrew on behalf of Planet Aware. Ed
