Did you know….that roughly 80%* of all litter in the marine environment comes from the land and once in our ocean, can take tens if not hundreds of years to decompose?
We can all help clean up our oceans by stemming the tide of litter that makes it onto our beaches and into the water.
Organise a beach clean with your BSAC club
Beach cleans can really make a difference to the amount of land debris getting into our oceans. Whether it’s part of a family day out to the beach, or a more organised group effort, why not make every trip to the beach or coastline a chance to have a tidy up!
Before you get started, here’s our guide to cleaning up topside:
- Include a beach clean as part of your club’s dive trip plans. They can be easily incorporated into your weekend and are a great way to make the most of a surface interval and get youngsters as well as non-diving club members involved.
- Or organise a stand-alone Beach Clean event, at your local beach or waterway as part of your club’s non-diving social activities. Promote your event via friends and social media and get the whole club involved. You could also include a session of BSAC Beachcomber for the youngsters and make a day of it. Take plenty of photos of your team and what you collect – you could even approach your local newspaper and get some publicity for your efforts!
- Don’t forget, clean ups can also include the roads and areas leading up to the beach…this is a great way to stop the flow of litter getting to the waterline.
- Little but often…Mini Beach Cleans are a simple but effective way to clean up if you can’t organise a full event and they don’t need much time. Schedule in an hour when you can and invite friends and dive buddies to join you. Make it a regular session and not only will you benefit from the time spent in the great outdoors…but the marine environment will too!
- Keep it safe. If you are planning to organise a large Beach Clean, then inform your local authority or relevant beach manager if you are expecting a large group of people. You should also complete a risk assessment – check out BSAC’s advice on risk assessments for more information.
- Make sure you dispose of everything you collect safely and correctly. Recycle items as far as you can via local authority recycling schemes and take extra care with glass and other sharp objects. Keep clear of large drums as they could contain hazardous or toxic substances and inform the Environment Agency or Scottish Environment Protection Agency of any pollution incidents. Pollution hotline: 0800 807060.
- Do it, share it! Collect, capture and upload your pictures and success stories.
From a photo of the litter you collect to a pic of your Underwater Litter Pick or Beach Clean team in action, share your clean-up efforts on Facebook, Instagram or X (Twitter) using the hashtag #BSACdivers to show your support and clean up your oceans!
*source – Greenpeace
Photo by Barry
Organise a Beach Clean with your club
It's fun for all members to get involved, you can even ask your family and friends to join you.
