Scottish beaches dirtiest in the UK
Ferry Online Travel News 13/04/2009
The Marine Conservation Society says Scotland's beaches are more littered than others in the UK.
In its annual Beachwatch survey, the society said that over 55,000 litter items were found on 52 beaches in Scotland.
The amount of litter recorded in 2008 was down by five per cent as compared with the previous year, but is still above the average for the UK. In particular, sewage-related litter found on Scottish beaches was three times the UK average. Argyll’s Clynder and Helensburgh’s East Bay beaches, both strewn with rubbish, raised Scotland’s numbers.
Volunteers carried out the survey last September, and they found litter on UK beaches to be at an all-time high – doubling since the beginning of organised clean-up efforts in 1994.
Scotland’s average of 2,581.4 items of litter/km was significantly higher than the overall UK average of 2,195/km, but showed a decline of 5.37 per cent over 2007.
Removing figures for the dirtiest of the Scottish beaches - Clynder and East Bay – leads to a drop in the average for Scotland to 2,219.6/km, which is still above the UK average.
The MCS project officer for Scotland, Anne Saunders, said: “We are calling for all countries in the UK to take action, to designate a lead body in each country to do something about this problem and work out a strategy.”
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