The first ever beach clean under the umbrella of the Adopt a Beach scheme took place in April, and amongst the bizarre items volunteers picked up was a plastic alien and a pair of underpants!
Twenty three volunteers and children attended the event at Pelham Beach, armed with refuse sacks and forms to record what they picked up. Nineteen bags of litter were picked up - a total weight of 58kg.
Other items you might not expect to find on a beach were two chicken beanie bags, a child’s drink beaker, a hoover attachment, an old chair, some car parts and some glow sticks! There were 2,269 individual items of litter consisting of:
Adopt a Beach is run by Hastings Council and supported by the Marine Conservation Society, which wants volunteers to target the polluters responsible for the waste. The litter found was a result of:
Adopt a Beach is part of a national scheme to raise awareness of the problems and dangers of coastal and marine litter. All the information gathered will enable the volunteer group to identify local litter inputs and target the polluters responsible.
The scheme is funded by the National Lottery and aims to have 250 beaches adopted by the end of the year, making it the largest coastal environmental initiative. Councillor Trevor Webb, Cabinet Member responsible for Quality of Life, said:
This scheme is a great opportunity for local people to get involved in, and find out more about their local environment. Volunteers will take part in four cleans per year - monitoring the health of our beach and ensuring that it is a place for everyone to enjoy - I am delighted that so many people have been willing to donate some of their spare time to this project.
If you are interested in joining the Adopt a Beach scheme, please Telephone: 781435
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This page last updated: 12/07/2001