UK Environmental news
 | Friday 12th June 2009 Britain's Dirty Beaches A recent study lead by the Marine Conservation Society and conducted by volunteers, has revealed a large increase in the amount of litter found on Britain's beaches. The group collected over 380 thousand individual pieces of litter at 374 different coastal spots around the nation. Record levels of general public litter and sanitary waste made up a staggering 44% of the waste, with fishing and shipping litter some of the other culprits. The density of litter has doubled since the first such survey was completed in 1994. The report has increased fears for local coastal wildlife including Whales, turtles and marine birds. This report comes after the number of British beaches awarded Blue Flag status decreased from 82 to 71 this year. Blue flag beaches must pass 16 of the 20 Environment Agency standards which include tests for bacteria and fecal matter, usually indicators of human sewage contamination. A large proportion of the increase in litter is attributed to the severe flooding in 2007 and 2008. This caused great quantities of surface litter to be washed in to the sea. This highlights the responsibility of everyone to take charge of litter whether they live by the coast or not. The Marine Conservation Society has proposed targets of a 50% reduction in beach litter by 2015 but admits that more coordination between government agencies is required and that individuals need to take a greater responsibility for their personal litter. |
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