Beach cleans took place simultaneously in Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jersey and Guernsey on Saturday and Sunday in an effort to help marine life and the environment on some of the beautiful coast lines of the Channel Islands.
The event was jointly hosted by the Alderney Wildlife Trust, Herm Island, La Societe Guernesiaise, Littlefeet Environmental and Plastic Free Guernsey.
‘Not only do beach cleans make the coast line look more beautiful, it’s good for marine and wildlife on the islands as rubbish can pose so many risks to birds, fish and other animals,’ said La Societe Guernesiaise member Laura Bampton.
Three of Guernsey’s beaches were the focus of Saturday’s clean up, Rousse bay, Belle Greve and Pezeries bay.
‘Sharp bits of fishing lines or plastic can harm people enjoying the coasts just as much as it can harm and entangle wildlife,’ she said.
Last year beach cleans-ups were a monthly occurrence but in 2019 La Societe Guernesiaise hopes to do larger quarterly cleans hitting more of the beaches at once.
Guernsey Recycling Group projects officer Fran Browning was helping with the clean-ups and said a little impact here and there can make a big difference collectively.
‘You might not feel as though you have achieved much but altogether the impact is much greater.’
Miss Browning often goes into schools to spread the message about recycling, beach cleaning and reducing plastics.
‘It’s very important to instil good habits into young people as those behaviours can have really successful consequences in the future.
‘It’s promising how enthusiastic young people are about beach cleans and re-usable items and recycling.’
Over 500kilograms of plastic waste was collected last year.
‘Almost half a tonne of waste in plastic bottles and cigarette butts is a huge volume and just goes to show how much is either littered in Guernsey or washed ashore.
‘We encourage everybody to come and get involved with beach cleans because you can do as much or as little as you like.’
Laura Bampton’s tips for reducing plastic consumption:
Be mindful of the plastic your products use
Try shampoo bars instead of bottles
Take containers to supermarkets to use at deli counters
Invest in re-usable cups and bottles
Dispose of rubbish properly and take advantage of recycling
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.