On Saturday 21st September The Deep Crew were delighted to be joined by over 60 volunteers at local beauty spot, Hessle Foreshore, to collect litter as part of the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) ‘Great British Beach Clean’ Campaign.
With the help of the volunteers a total of 33.47kg of litter was collected from the banks of the Humber – including a whole chair, lots of large pieces of scrap metal, 580 pieces of glass and a can or orange Fanta which went out of date in 1998!
Beach cleans are a fantastic way to get involved in keeping local coastline free of litter to protect the environment and our native marine species. Each piece of litter collected is identified, weighed and recorded before being carefully disposed of. The data collected goes towards the MCSs national survey, which is used to help raise public awareness of the impact of litter on the environment.
Since carrying out these events, The Deep and the hundreds of volunteers involved over the years have managed to collect over 1 ton of rubbish – that’s the equivalent of a car!
Data collected from the UK wide event is used to influence the government to take action and encourage positive behaviour change in large companies. Beach clean data has shown an average drop of 80% in plastic bags found washed up on UK beaches. This is as a result of the introduction of plastic bag charges, which the MCS campaigned for and was supported by data from UK beach cleans.
John Andrews, from The Deep ran the event on Saturday and said “It was fantastic to see so many local families getting involved. This is the first beach clean The Deep has organised since the pandemic, we are delighted with the response and the efforts of those who joined us on the day. The Deep is very much looking forward to supporting the MCS campaign in years to come and contributing to positive behaviour change through these effective and fun citizen science events!”
As a conservation and education charity The Deep is committed to fulfilling its ethos in the community, nationally and around the world. As part of this commitment The Deep organise activities and events throughout the year, supporting its mission to create a deeper understanding and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, and to inspire positive change for its survival. To find out more including how you can get involved visit our 'Get Involved' page.
For more information, please contact Zoe Montgomerie, Head of Communications & Marketing on 01482 381093 or email zoe@thedeep.co.uk