Litter on Paignton beaches?

Litter on Paignton beaches?

1.  

   Goodrington Beach, Paignton.

 

According to the latest findings from the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Beachwatch Big Weekend 2010 report - the British public are putting far more down their toilets than they should be and the result is beaches awash with items like cotton buds, condoms, sanitary towels and tampon applicators.

Last year average litter levels increased by six per cent, with a rise of over 40 per cent in sewage related debris – that’s the stuff we shouldn’t put down our toilets but in the bathroom waste bin instead.

MCS Beachwatch Officer, Lauren Davis, says the figures reveal a shocking picture of what people do in the privacy of their own bathroom: “Increasingly people seem to be putting things down their loos that belong in the bin. Cotton buds, condoms, tampons, tampon applicators and sanitary towels are being flushed away with an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ perception. But sewerage networks and waste water treatment works are not specifically designed to remove these sort of items and unfortunately more and more are ending up in our rivers and then on our beaches.”

The MCS Beachwatch Big Weekend 2010 results were collected by almost 5,000 volunteers who cleaned 376 beaches, covering a total of 167 kilometres.  330,107 items of litter were collected filling over 3,000 bags. For every kilometre surveyed almost 2,000 pieces of litter were found.

The four main sources of litter found were:

- Public – Litter dropped at the beach or inland and carried to the sea by wind and drains, includes crisp packets, cigarette stubs and sweet wrappers.

- Fishing – Items from commercial or recreational fishing activities, includes ropes, nets, line and hooks.

- Shipping – Litter dropped from ships, includes lost cargo, pallets and strapping bands.

- Sewage-related debris – Sanitary items that have come through the sewerage system or overflow pipes.

In the South West region a total of 64,955 litter items were collected from 62 beaches over a total length of 20.6km. On average 3,144 items/km were recorded, considerably higher than the UK average.

So what about Paignton beaches? Do they reflect the findings?

Paignton resident Mark Baker commented: “You don’t see much litter on beaches around here. I’d say Meadfoot beach (Torquay) is where I’ve seen litter and that when I’ve been fishing. But I think they’re all pretty good."

Jane Collins said: “I probably see more dog mess than anything else. Not a great amount of litter.”

“Paignton beaches definitely have less litter than the Torquay one’s,” added Jon Peach.

In my experience local beaches are pretty clean… but have you stumbled upon much litter and sanitary items on local beaches?

Great picture courtesy of Julyguy