The twelfth and final South Hams beach clean of the year is coming up, marking the end of another successful year of litter picking and roughly 1.8 tonnes of rubbish collected.
The final organised beach clean of 2018 is taking place this Saturday, December 22 from 10-11am at Blackpool Sands, and attendees will be treated to free parking and a free hot drink provided by Venus Cafe - remember to bring your reusable mug!
Less Plastic UK founder and South Hams Beach Clean Series organiser, Amanda Keetley, said: “Thanks to everyone who has come along to our South Hams beach cleans since we teamed up with Surfers Against Sewage to run monthly community events.
“As we celebrate two years of beach cleaning together, we estimate that we’ve removed almost 1.8 tonnes of rubbish from our beautiful local beaches - the equivalent of 176 bags full of rubbish!
“We’ve been out in all weathers and have been heartened by the number of local people who care about keeping plastic out of the sea, whether it’s by attending our beach cleans or by picking up litter when they are out and about.
“We are also very grateful for the fantastic support we’ve received from local businesses offering free hot refreshments for our volunteers.
“If you feel overwhelmed by the plastic crisis, beach cleaning is a great way to do something positive to tackle the problem. We plan to continue our monthly beach cleans throughout 2019 – usually on the last Saturday of the month.
“Please join us for our last beach clean of 2018 - it’s a great way to spend the last Saturday before Christmas doing something meaningful!”
Environmental campaigns Surfers Against Sewage and Less Plastic UK teamed up in 2017 to organise a monthly beach clean each month.
Amanda has calculated that on average the beach cleaners collect eight bin bags of rubbish at an approximate weight of 10kg each. So with around 80kg of waste cleared per beach clean, and 22 beach cleans since November 2016, 1,760kg or nearly 1.8 tonnes of rubbish has been cleared.