Beachwatch 2009 results provide a snapshot of the litter found on UK beaches over one weekend. The average density of litter has decreased from 2008 from 2195.15 items per km to 1849.23 items per km. This was a 16% decrease.
In 2009, 4,655 marine conservation society volunteers around the UK cleaned and surveyed 397 beaches, covering 185.0km of coastline (9.3km more than in 2008). In one weekend 2,742 bags were filled with 342,151 items of litter.
An average of 1,849.2 litter items were found every kilometre of beach surveyed in the UK during the 2009 survey, a 16% decrease in density compared with Beachwatch 2008 (2,195/km). This is down from the 110% increase in 2008, compared to 75% increase in comparison to the 1,045 items/km found in 2004.
|
UK Region
|
Public
|
Fishing
|
SRD - Sewage Related Debris
|
Shipping
|
Fly-tipped
|
Medical
|
Non-sourced
|
|
Country
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
%
|
|
Northern Ireland
|
53.4
|
7.7
|
7.6
|
2.2
|
0.5
|
0.2
|
28.5
|
|
Scotland
|
42.9
|
7
|
19.3
|
1.8
|
1
|
0.2
|
27.9
|
|
Wales
|
32.9
|
26.8
|
3.4
|
1.9
|
0.4
|
0.1
|
34.5
|
|
England (total)
|
43.4
|
13.8
|
3.2
|
2.1
|
1
|
0.2
|
36.3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NE England
|
56.9
|
7.7
|
2.8
|
1.4
|
2.6
|
0.3
|
28.4
|
|
NW England
|
44
|
13.7
|
8.6
|
1.8
|
1.2
|
0.1
|
30.6
|
|
SE England
|
43.8
|
14
|
3.4
|
2.5
|
0.7
|
0.1
|
35.5
|
|
SW England
|
37.3
|
15.9
|
1.9
|
2
|
0.8
|
0.2
|
41.8
|
|
Overall averages
|
41.5
|
15.1
|
5.4
|
2
|
0.9
|
0.2
|
34.9
|
Main Materials
In 2010, plastics are the most common litter material found on UK beaches, as it was in 2009 with over 60%.
Plastic items represent 63.5% off all litter recorded in 2009 Beachwatch. This is an increase of 6.5% compared to 2008.
|
Material category
|
% of total litter
|
Items/kilometre
|
Total number collected
|
|
Plastics
|
63.5
|
1173.6
|
217,145
|
|
Polystyrene
|
8.1
|
150.6
|
27,858
|
|
Paper
|
6.4
|
117.7
|
21,771
|
|
Metal
|
6.1
|
112.8
|
20,866
|
|
Sanitary
|
5.4
|
100.9
|
18,661
|
|
Glass
|
3.5
|
65.1
|
12,036
|
|
Wood
|
2.1
|
38.8
|
7,185
|
|
Cloth
|
1.9
|
35.3
|
6,527
|
|
Rubber
|
1.8
|
33.4
|
6,175
|
|
Faeces
|
0.6
|
10.2
|
1,888
|
|
Pottery & Ceramics
|
0.4
|
7.9
|
1,470
|
|
Medical
|
0.2
|
3.1
|
569
|
For full information on what is included in each category – please follow this link to the full 2009 report
South West
A total of 71,851 litter items were collected from 60 beaches over a total length of 22.0kilometre in the South West.
On average 3,269 items/kilometre were recorded, higher than the UK average (1,849/kilometre) representing a 32% decrease compared to 2008 average figures (4,784/kilometre)
Within England, the greatest density of litter was recorded, as in previous years, in the South West, where 3,269 items/kilometre were recorded, followed by the North West (2,256/kilometre), South East (1,446/kilometre) and North East (1,166/kilometre). When compared to Beachwatch 2008, average litter densities decreased in all regions with the exception of the North West.
|
Region
|
No. of beaches surveyed
|
Total no.of volunteers
|
Total litter items
|
Total length surveyed (kilometre)
|
Items/kilometre in 2009
|
|
Country
|
|
Channel Islands
|
33
|
347
|
17,310
|
18.25
|
948.75
|
|
Northern Ireland
|
13
|
146
|
11,893
|
6.7
|
1775.07
|
|
Scotland
|
61
|
821
|
46,763
|
24.52
|
1907.45
|
|
Wales
|
73
|
728
|
59,226
|
19.2
|
3084.21
|
|
England (total)
|
217
|
2,613
|
206,959
|
116.36
|
1778.62
|
|
England Regions
|
|
NE England
|
41
|
487
|
28,967
|
24.85
|
1165.91
|
|
NW England
|
14
|
124
|
15,602
|
6.92
|
2256.25
|
|
SE England
|
102
|
1,224
|
90,539
|
62.62
|
1445.82
|
|
SW England
|
60
|
778
|
71,851
|
21.98
|
3269.22
|
Beachwatch 2010 will be carried out in September 2010. Please click here for more information.
