Social media timelines were dominated last week with the discovery of thousands of pink plastic bottles on the shores of Cornwall.
According to Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), the bottles, many of which still contain detergent, went overboard from the container ship, DS Blue Ocean, near Lands End in May 2015.
They say 27 tonnes of detergent were in one of the many containers which have been on the seafloor since then. The recent winter storms disturbed them and washing some of them up along the Cornish coast (many more are expected in coming months).
Turning it into a positive
Hundreds of the bottles have been collected from the beach by The National Trust, Poldhu Beach Cafe and Surfers Against Sewage (SAS).
Georgia Wyatt-Willsmore of Bembridge-based ethical bag company, Wyatt & Jack, was keen to find out how she could help create a positive use for the bottles. Wyatt & Jack are, of course, well-known for re-purposing deck chair material and retired bouncy castles to make gorgeous women’s and men’s bags.
She’s teaming up with the Surfers Against Sewage team and will be taking part in a marine litter community project.
Designing a prototype
A box of the pink bottles are being shipped to the Isle of Wight next week in order for Georgia to create prototype flamingoes for project and work out the logistics.
She’ll then be working with SAS at the 2016 Boardmasters Festival running workshops where festival-goers can get involved in making more plastic flamingoes.
Other flamingo-making opportunities are on the cards too, we’ll let you know where and when nearer the time.
Vanish: Highly unlikely to cause major or lasting impact to wildlife
For those concerned about the ecological impact of the bottles going overboard, Reckitt Benckiser (RB), the parent company that owns Vanish, issued the following statement last week,
“We can confirm from the results of our investigation that the bottles found on Poldhu Cove Beach, Cornwall are Vanish Liquid stain remover. We have been informed by MacAndrews & Company Ltd that on 19th May, 18,720 units of Vanish were among other containers that were reported missing from cargo ship, DS Blue Ocean. RB was made aware of this issue when contacted by the National Trust on Monday 4th January.
“RB has a strong history of environmental performance and the protection and preservation of the environment is a top priority. We continue to work closely with the National Trust and local authorities including Cornwall Council to provide support with the clean-up operation and collection and safe disposal of the recovered product. We are committed to providing all necessary support until the vast majority of the bottles have been recovered. To date, 30-50% are recovered.
“We understand that many bottles remain intact, while others have inevitably been damaged due to storms and heavy seas. We can confirm that the Vanish formulation is readily soluble in water and is highly unlikely to cause major or lasting impact to wildlife or the environment.”
More info
For more information about Surfers Against Sewage and their brilliant beach cleaning projects, see their Facebook Page, or if you’re not on Facebook, head to their Website.
Image: © Poldhu Beach Cafe
