48kg of waste gathered at beach clean
MORE than 30 volunteers took part in the Clean Earth Trust’s pre-lockdown beach clean at L’Eree.
They included the sales and lettings teams from Savills Guernsey, which was the first business to sponsor the event.
The Savills employees spent a mid-January afternoon helping the local charity and other volunteers to clear and monitor rubbish.
A total of 48kg of waste was collected, including 773 small pieces of plastic under 2.5cm, 248 larger pieces, a drum filled with fishing nets, 170 small pieces of broken fishing line and rope, 91 pieces of food packaging, 53 plastic caps and 274 cigarette butts.
Savills’ Nick Paluch said: ‘It was great to be involved in such an important initiative. We are lucky enough to enjoy miles of beautiful beaches and coastline and this was the perfect way for the team to help look after our local environment.’
The Clean Earth Trust’s Helen Quin said: ‘These figures from just two hours of beach cleaning demonstrate that Guernsey is not immune to the world’s catastrophic problem with plastic pollution, particularly that which enters and causes destruction in our marine environment.
‘We’re inviting local businesses to beach clean with us so they can see the seriousness of the situation, help spread the message and consider changes they can make in their operations to avoid unnecessary waste.
‘Thanks to Nick and his team for coming down and getting stuck in and for their support towards the ongoing delivery of our projects.’
The primary objective of the Clean Earth Trust is to limit negative human impact on the environment.
n Further details about the trust can be found at cleanearthtrust.org.