The coast is a brilliant place. The thin strip of land that makes the change from land to sea is one of our richest habitats and supports a wide range of plants and animals that we won’t find anywhere else. It’s also a place to enjoy, from active games on the beach, delving into rock pools or just chilling out and enjoying the sound of the sea.

Unfortunately our coast also has some unwelcome intruders that can cause problems for our costal life - and us, too.

They are litter and litter is waste that has not been disposed of properly. We could cut ourselves on sharp objects like broken bottles; animals can get trapped inside drink cans; marine animals can mistakenly eat litter; plastic bags and oil can smother plants and animals.

The Marine Conservation Society estimate that every year over one million seabirds and 100,000 turtles and sea mammals die as a result of eating litter and getting tangled up in plastic fishing nets and lines. Their report said beach litter has increased by 82% over the past decade. Over £14 million is spent every year on keeping our beaches litter free.

Next time your are on the beach have a look (don’t touch unless you are part of an organised beach clear up party) and see what kinds of litter you can find

You will probably find 5 kinds of litter - metals; glass; plastics; paper and organics like left over food. Some of this litter will disappear naturally by being eaten or composting, although a cheese and pickle sandwich might not be the best food for seabirds whose diet is meant to be fish.

So where does all this litter come from?

Ships and fishing boats contribute to coastal litter. Sometimes ships illegally clear their tanks at sea and release oils. Storms might wash cargo overboard or wreck the ship on rocks. Recently a whole cargo of wood was washed up onto a Cornish beach. It was quickly salvaged by locals, as were hundreds of brand new trainers on southern beaches.

Fishing nets and lines, now mostly made of synthetic materials which don’t rot away, can get lost by accident or dumped illegally. An otter turned up on the Isle of Skye wound up in fishing twine, he’s now recovering well and was expected to be released back into the wild soon. Some litter comes from our sewage systems. Every day we pump over a thousand million litres of raw or partially treated sewage into the sea. Some also comes from illegal ‘fly tipping’ when people feel it’s easier to dump rubbish rather than taking it to the tip.

And finally, in a survey The Environment Agency found 36% of the litter came from us! Crisp packets; drink cans; plastic bottles; litter and containers; newspapers and magazines; and thousands of cotton buds! (If only we all took it home that would be over a third of our beach litter gone.)

It’s not all gloom and doom. Numerous organisations are working to improve our coast and beaches.

If you’re a web surfer start by having a look at: The Environment Agency BeachBeat; The Marine Conservation Society Beachwatch and National Aquatic Litter Group websites.

This article was originally published in Summer 2005 as part of the Coast Postcard pack

Content last updated: 18/08/2006

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