The Great British Beach Clean 2022
The Itero team at Lancing beach
Every September, The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) hosts the Great British Beach Clean. Thousands of people participate in this citizen science event at beaches across the UK, cleaning up the coastal environment from human-caused pollution, while collecting data on the types of waste found.
On Thursday 22 September, our team spent a day on Lancing beach, in the South of England, collecting a range of rubbish and completing a survey to collect data of all the litter found as part of the Great British Beach Clean event. We gathered to reconnect with the pressing plastics problem in the real world, and reflect on the potential role and solution that the chemical recycling industry has to offer for plastic waste collected from the marine environment.
Using the data collected by volunteer-led beach cleans, the MCS campaigns for change. Their data-driven approach has been used to support policy on the introduction of the plastic bag charge, banning microplastics in personal care products, better wet wipe labelling, and supporting a tax on single-use plastic items. In 2021, over five tonnes of litter was collected by 6,176 volunteers in a week. 75% of all the litter collected during the same event was plastic or polystyrene. The 2022 results have recently been published, revealing important insights.
2022 Results
The most exciting result: the average litter recorded per 100 metres is dropping year-on-year across the UK. An average of 369 items were found in 2022, compared to averages of 385 in 2021, 425 in 2020, and 558 in 2019.
Other key insights:
5,261 volunteers participated in the Great British Beach Clean 2022. Across ten days they cleaned up 30 miles of UK beaches
Volunteers collected 141,048 pieces of litter (weighing approximately 4,000kg)
77% increase in wet wipes and sanitaries found
93% of beaches found drinks-related litter (including glass and plastic bottles, cans, caps and lids), data that supports the MCS call for Deposit Return Schemes to be introduced. This is a measure supported by us at Itero
See full results at The Marine Conservation Society.
OUR BEACH CLEAN UP OBSERVATIONS
On our beach clean-up, we found cigarette stubs as the most common waste item collected. In 2021, it was the second most common item found on the UK beaches which came as a surprise to our team, but in good news from the 2022 results, while cigarette stubs are still being found on 60% of cleans, there has been a 25% decrease in numbers since 2021. Cigarette stubs contains a plastic filter which is often not disposed of properly. In an effort to eliminate smoking-related litter, the MCS is collaborating with colleagues at ASH Wales to lobby for a ban on plastic in cigarette filters.
The MCS advocated for a ban on all single-use plastic and continues lobbying the government to hold consultations to move towards a circular economy. What is clear is that data-driven policy interventions work: there was a 55% drop in plastic bags found on UK beaches since the introduction of the 5p charge.
England has banned single-use plastic cotton buds, stirrers, and straws in October 2020 resulting in cotton buds moving out of the UK’s top ten most common rubbish items. There is a greater push to reduce all single use plastics using comprehensive policies aimed at reducing wasteful use of plastics.
The Itero team at Lancing beach with Marine Conservation Society representative, Lizzie Prior
FOR OUR TEAM
What we see again and again in working with plastics is that it is a problem bigger than any single actor. Requiring wholesale change including policy, technology, infrastructure, and citizens asking the right questions, seeking better answers, and pursuing ambitious, collaborative solutions.
As a company that highly values research and development and data-driven decision making, we strongly support the dedicated work and collaborative citizen science approach of the MCS. We encourage you to learn more about their call for a Deposit Return Scheme as a meaningful policy change to reduce plastic pollution.
WHAT NEXT?
Did you miss out on the event? Beach Cleans are organised year round so you can participate at any time. We’d encourage involvement with the Marine Conservation Society in any way that suits you, see more ways to contribute at their website: https://www.mcsuk.org/
The Itero team at Lancing beach with Marine Conservation Society representative, Lizzie Prior