Syringes on North Kent Beaches?

During several beach cleans along the North Kent coast, a large number of plastic syringes were being found.

It was found out that a company in central London was being paid to incinerate these items but were dumping them into to the Thames instead.

If it had not been for the recording of the litter being found during beach cleans. The syringes would still be being dumped into the river Thames and collecting on our beaches.

Once in the environment plastic never really goes away. It just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces.

In some places there are more plastic fragments in the seawater than zooplankton.

Plastics are now the most common man-made item sighted at sea.

Marine litter is known to affect over 267 species including birds, turtles, whales and dolphins. They eat it or become entangled in it.

Carelessly discarded plastics litter our beaches and spoil the places we used to enjoy.

The marine conservation society is campaigning for action on marine litter.

We are calling on Governments to take the lead and publish action plans to reduce marine litter by 2011.

You can help keep the pressure on our leaders now to turn the tide on litter.

Join Beachwatch and help clean your favorite beach.

www.mcsuk.org

Not a Happy Meal

From our Beach cleans along the North Kent coast it is becoming increasingly apparent that a large number of balloons are being released, either intentionally or by mistake into the environment.

Latex balloons are made with 100% natural rubber enabling the balloons to biodegrade completely. The degradation process begins immediately the balloons are inflated and this is accelerated once the balloons is exposed to light. Or so the balloon manufacturers would like you to believe.

Here is an experiment which is running to try and find out just how long it takes for a latex balloon to degrade.

Balloon experiment

Good Beach Guide

Pollution from overflowing sewers, farmland and city streets means that you have a one in seven chance of getting a sewage related disease such as gastroenteritis or ear, nose and throat infections each time you swim at over a third of UK beaches. That’s why each year we publish a list of MCS Recommended beaches with excellent water quality, allowing you to find clean beaches for swimming

South East Region Results

Marine Litter

You are here: Home > Marine Conservation > Marine pollution > Marine Litter

Whether it’s on the roadside, at a park or on the beach, litter is everywhere, and it’s a huge problem. MCS is particularly concerned about how much of this rubbish ends up in the sea where it’s a massive threat to some of our favorite animals. See marine debris powerpoint .
You might not think that a plastic bag blowing around in a supermarket car park could possibly be dangerous to sea life. But this bag, dropped miles inland, can make its way to the sea through drains and rivers. Once in the ocean, the bag hangs in the water, the handles gently moving with the current. It is really no mystery why a passing turtle could mistake this deadly plastic for a tasty jellyfish meal.
A recent study on the stomach contents of stranded leatherback turtles found the amount of plastic in their stomachs has been increasing since the 1950’s. In other words, the more plastic we produce, use and throw away, the more plastic ends up in the sea to be eaten by turtles.

Researchers found that about a third of the turtles in the study had plastic in their stomachs, and the most common item?

The plastic bag.

It’s not just turtles. Marine litter affects over 260 of our marine species — either because they accidentally eat floating rubbish, or they get trapped and injured by it. It affects everything from tiny animals right the way up to giant whales. In fact a sperm whale was recently found with over 200kg of litter in its stomach, including fishing nets, plastic bags and even a plastic comb!

The Marine Conservation Society is taking action to turn the tide on beach litter. Over 20,000 MCS Beachwatch volunteers have removed tens of thousands of rubbish items directly from beaches over the past fifteen years!

We use the information collected by MCS Beachwatch volunteers, to successfully campaign on some of the most common and harmful types of beach litter.

DON T LET GO!

MCS promotes wildlife-friendly use of balloons with a high impact “Don’t Let Go!” campaign. A Don’t Let Go!” pack describes the impacts of balloon releases on wildlife with posters, fact sheets, leaflets and postcards and encourages responsible use of balloons to prevent their release Into the environment,

Campaign achievements

• Many balloon releases cancelled as a direct result of the MCS “Don’t Let Go!”
campaign.
MCS is working with councils to discourage them from allowing balloon releases on their land.
MCS is campaigning for balloons to be listed as litter Items” under the Environmental Protection Act. Sign our
petition now’ ( www.mcsuk.org )

GO PLASTIC BAG FREE!

MCS has worked closely with Rebecca Hosking to promote the “go plastic bag free” initiative. MCS Adopt-a-Beach website highlights the problems of plastic and plastic bags and hosts a list of towns hoping to go plastic free.

Campaign achievements

• Over 70 towns and communities in the UK signed up to go plastic bag free.

• The Daily Mail launched its own Plastic Bag Free campaign with direct input from MCS.
• MCS has given evidence to the Scottish Parliament in support of a plastic bag tax.

Bag it and bin it. Don't flush it!

MCS campaigns for retailers to put proper disposal information on store brand cotton bud sticks and for people to stop flushing plastic sanitary waste down the toilet.

Campaign achievements

• Dramatic decline in cotton bud sticks on UK beaches in 2007 due to extensive MCS publicity from the Beachwatch 2006 report.

• Beachwatch results instrumental in Scottish Water’s decision to invest £4.5 million in major clean up at East Bay (Helensburgh) after high levels of sewage related debris highlighted.

What else can you do?

Make some simple changes There are a few more simple things we can all do in our day-to day lives that will help clean up our seas and beaches.

Never ever drop litter. Even small things, like sweet wrappers and cigarette stubs, can be a big problem for wildlife.
Choose products with less plastic packaging.
Go plastic bag free - re-use old bags or take cloth bags with you when you go shopping.
Drink tap water instead of buying water in plastic bottles.
Try and recycle as much of your rubbish as you can.

Together we can look forward to spending unforgettable summer days on beautiful, clean beaches, safe in the knowledge that our sea life can.