Litter louts leave Britain's beaches twice as dirty

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...0/nbeach20.xml

Litter louts leave Britain's beaches twice as dirty

By Tim Hall
Last Updated: 1:37am BST 20/04/2007

Britain's beaches are almost twice as dirty as they were 13 years ago,
according to a survey of the coastline.

Beach litter graph


Crisp packets, cigarette ends, plastic bottles and cotton wool buds
were all found by the thousand on every one of the beaches inspected
by volunteers.

On average 1,989 pieces of litter were found for every kilometre of
beach surveyed, representing an increase of 90 per cent on 1994
levels.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), which conducts the annual study
and clean-up, said that a third of the rubbish was left behind by
beach visitors.

The organisation blamed the casual "throw it over your shoulder"
culture that has developed in Britain with regards to packaging.

Another major cause of pollution, however, that is increasing every
year, is objects flushed down the loo. The MCS urged people not to use
their loos as wet bins because cotton wool buds and other items find
their way onto the shoreline.

Emma Snowden, MCS litter projects co-ordinator said: "There has been a
massive amount of cotton bud sticks flushed down the toilet. These are
particularly bad because they go through the sieves in sewage
treatment plants.
advertisement

"Cotton bud sticks and other sewage-related debris on our beaches are
not just unsightly but the majority of these products are made of
plastic, which persist in the marine environment for many years.

"This should be such an easy environmental issue to resolve and yet
the message is still not getting across. Everyone must take
responsibility to bag it and bin it; never flush it.

"There are quite a few things that people can do to protect our
beaches, including putting litter in the bin and recycling as much as
possible.

"People need to stop using their toilet as a wet bin, and think about
the consequences of their actions. Every piece of litter has an owner.
People's habits must change, and it is up to everyone to act
responsibly by not dropping litter in the first place."

Mrs Snowden added that litter dropped by individuals accounted for 33
per cent of the waste on beaches. This included not only objects
dropped directly on the sand, but also rubbish dropped in towns, which
travels to the coast through the drains.

After personal littering, fishing debris (11 per cent) and sewage
waste (10 per cent) accounted for the greatest single sources of
pollution.

The MCS Beachwatch project, which has been running since 1993,
involved four thousand volunteers this year. They visited 358 beaches
and collected 370,000 individual pieces of litter.

The figures have not been broken down to give results for individual
beaches. However, the survey did show large regional variations in the
cleanliness of the nation's coastline.

The UK's cleanest beaches were in Northern Ireland, where 625 items of
litter were found per kilometre of beach. Beaches in south-east
England and Scotland also fared well. In contrast, 3,186 items were
found per kilometre on beaches in south-west England, making it the
region with the dirtiest shoreline.

michaelnewport the newsgroup lout

"sLuGhUnTeR" a écrit dans le message de news:
...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...0/nbeach20.xml

Litter louts leave Britain's beaches twice as dirty

By Tim Hall
Last Updated: 1:37am BST 20/04/2007

Britain's beaches are almost twice as dirty as they were 13 years ago,
according to a survey of the coastline.

Beach litter graph


Crisp packets, cigarette ends, plastic bottles and cotton wool buds
were all found by the thousand on every one of the beaches inspected
by volunteers.

On average 1,989 pieces of litter were found for every kilometre of
beach surveyed, representing an increase of 90 per cent on 1994
levels.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), which conducts the annual study
and clean-up, said that a third of the rubbish was left behind by
beach visitors.

The organisation blamed the casual "throw it over your shoulder"
culture that has developed in Britain with regards to packaging.

Another major cause of pollution, however, that is increasing every
year, is objects flushed down the loo. The MCS urged people not to use
their loos as wet bins because cotton wool buds and other items find
their way onto the shoreline.

Emma Snowden, MCS litter projects co-ordinator said: "There has been a
massive amount of cotton bud sticks flushed down the toilet. These are
particularly bad because they go through the sieves in sewage
treatment plants.
advertisement

"Cotton bud sticks and other sewage-related debris on our beaches are
not just unsightly but the majority of these products are made of
plastic, which persist in the marine environment for many years.

"This should be such an easy environmental issue to resolve and yet
the message is still not getting across. Everyone must take
responsibility to bag it and bin it; never flush it.

"There are quite a few things that people can do to protect our
beaches, including putting litter in the bin and recycling as much as
possible.

"People need to stop using their toilet as a wet bin, and think about
the consequences of their actions. Every piece of litter has an owner.
People's habits must change, and it is up to everyone to act
responsibly by not dropping litter in the first place."

Mrs Snowden added that litter dropped by individuals accounted for 33
per cent of the waste on beaches. This included not only objects
dropped directly on the sand, but also rubbish dropped in towns, which
travels to the coast through the drains.

After personal littering, fishing debris (11 per cent) and sewage
waste (10 per cent) accounted for the greatest single sources of
pollution.

The MCS Beachwatch project, which has been running since 1993,
involved four thousand volunteers this year. They visited 358 beaches
and collected 370,000 individual pieces of litter.

The figures have not been broken down to give results for individual
beaches. However, the survey did show large regional variations in the
cleanliness of the nation's coastline.

The UK's cleanest beaches were in Northern Ireland, where 625 items of
litter were found per kilometre of beach. Beaches in south-east
England and Scotland also fared well. In contrast, 3,186 items were
found per kilometre on beaches in south-west England, making it the
region with the dirtiest shoreline.

On Apr 20, 9:30 am, sLuGhUnTeR wrote:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...07/04/20/nbeac...

Litter louts leave Britain's beaches twice as dirty

By Tim Hall
Last Updated: 1:37am BST 20/04/2007

Britain's beaches are almost twice as dirty as they were 13 years ago,
according to a survey of the coastline.

Beach litter graph

Crisp packets, cigarette ends, plastic bottles and cotton wool buds
were all found by the thousand on every one of the beaches inspected
by volunteers.

On average 1,989 pieces of litter were found for every kilometre of
beach surveyed, representing an increase of 90 per cent on 1994
levels.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), which conducts the annual study
and clean-up, said that a third of the rubbish was left behind by
beach visitors.

The organisation blamed the casual "throw it over your shoulder"
culture that has developed in Britain with regards to packaging.

Another major cause of pollution, however, that is increasing every
year, is objects flushed down the loo. The MCS urged people not to use
their loos as wet bins because cotton wool buds and other items find
their way onto the shoreline.

Emma Snowden, MCS litter projects co-ordinator said: "There has been a
massive amount of cotton bud sticks flushed down the toilet. These are
particularly bad because they go through the sieves in sewage
treatment plants.
advertisement

"Cotton bud sticks and other sewage-related debris on our beaches are
not just unsightly but the majority of these products are made of
plastic, which persist in the marine environment for many years.

"This should be such an easy environmental issue to resolve and yet
the message is still not getting across. Everyone must take
responsibility to bag it and bin it; never flush it.

"There are quite a few things that people can do to protect our
beaches, including putting litter in the bin and recycling as much as
possible.

"People need to stop using their toilet as a wet bin, and think about
the consequences of their actions. Every piece of litter has an owner.
People's habits must change, and it is up to everyone to act
responsibly by not dropping litter in the first place."

Mrs Snowden added that litter dropped by individuals accounted for 33
per cent of the waste on beaches. This included not only objects
dropped directly on the sand, but also rubbish dropped in towns, which
travels to the coast through the drains.

After personal littering, fishing debris (11 per cent) and sewage
waste (10 per cent) accounted for the greatest single sources of
pollution.

The MCS Beachwatch project, which has been running since 1993,
involved four thousand volunteers this year. They visited 358 beaches
and collected 370,000 individual pieces of litter.

The figures have not been broken down to give results for individual
beaches. However, the survey did show large regional variations in the
cleanliness of the nation's coastline.

The UK's cleanest beaches were in Northern Ireland, where 625 items of
litter were found per kilometre of beach. Beaches in south-east
England and Scotland also fared well. In contrast, 3,186 items were
found per kilometre on beaches in south-west England, making it the
region with the dirtiest shoreline.

oh rilllllllllllly !

"sLuGhUnTeR" a écrit dans le message de news:
...
On Apr 20, 9:30 am, sLuGhUnTeR wrote:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...07/04/20/nbeac...

Litter louts leave Britain's beaches twice as dirty

By Tim Hall
Last Updated: 1:37am BST 20/04/2007

Britain's beaches are almost twice as dirty as they were 13 years ago,
according to a survey of the coastline.

Beach litter graph

Crisp packets, cigarette ends, plastic bottles and cotton wool buds
were all found by the thousand on every one of the beaches inspected
by volunteers.

On average 1,989 pieces of litter were found for every kilometre of
beach surveyed, representing an increase of 90 per cent on 1994
levels.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), which conducts the annual study
and clean-up, said that a third of the rubbish was left behind by
beach visitors.

The organisation blamed the casual "throw it over your shoulder"
culture that has developed in Britain with regards to packaging.

Another major cause of pollution, however, that is increasing every
year, is objects flushed down the loo. The MCS urged people not to use
their loos as wet bins because cotton wool buds and other items find
their way onto the shoreline.

Emma Snowden, MCS litter projects co-ordinator said: "There has been a
massive amount of cotton bud sticks flushed down the toilet. These are
particularly bad because they go through the sieves in sewage
treatment plants.
advertisement

"Cotton bud sticks and other sewage-related debris on our beaches are
not just unsightly but the majority of these products are made of
plastic, which persist in the marine environment for many years.

"This should be such an easy environmental issue to resolve and yet
the message is still not getting across. Everyone must take
responsibility to bag it and bin it; never flush it.

"There are quite a few things that people can do to protect our
beaches, including putting litter in the bin and recycling as much as
possible.

"People need to stop using their toilet as a wet bin, and think about
the consequences of their actions. Every piece of litter has an owner.
People's habits must change, and it is up to everyone to act
responsibly by not dropping litter in the first place."

Mrs Snowden added that litter dropped by individuals accounted for 33
per cent of the waste on beaches. This included not only objects
dropped directly on the sand, but also rubbish dropped in towns, which
travels to the coast through the drains.

After personal littering, fishing debris (11 per cent) and sewage
waste (10 per cent) accounted for the greatest single sources of
pollution.

The MCS Beachwatch project, which has been running since 1993,
involved four thousand volunteers this year. They visited 358 beaches
and collected 370,000 individual pieces of litter.

The figures have not been broken down to give results for individual
beaches. However, the survey did show large regional variations in the
cleanliness of the nation's coastline.

The UK's cleanest beaches were in Northern Ireland, where 625 items of
litter were found per kilometre of beach. Beaches in south-east
England and Scotland also fared well. In contrast, 3,186 items were
found per kilometre on beaches in south-west England, making it the
region with the dirtiest shoreline.

oh rilllllllllllly !