More litter than ever on region’s beaches

Apr 8 2009 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

OUR beaches are becoming increasingly litter-strewn with a staggering amount of rubbish collected, clean-up campaigners have revealed. More than 600 volunteers from the region took part in the Marine Conservation Society’s annual Beachwatch survey and they collected a total of 40,167 items of litter from 39 beaches over a total length of 27.52km.

On average 1,459.8 items of litter for every kilometre were found, lower than the United Kingdom average (2,195/km), but an increase of 10.4% on the 2007 levels.

Litter left by people accounted for the majority of the waste, at 41.7%, followed by debris from fishing (9.1%), sewage-related (3.8%) and shipping (1.4%).

But despite the increase in litter, the North East figures were still well below both the England and UK averages. The Beachwatch 2008 results show that litter on beaches has increased by 110% since the survey began in 1994.

Average figures for the UK are now at 2,195 litter items/km of beaches surveyed compared to 1,045 items/km in 1994.

At present there is no Government-led plan of action for tackling marine litter in the UK.

Now the MCS is calling for a coordinated approach to develop a marine litter strategy and deliver it through appropriate Government bodies.