Formby beach clean collected over 100kg of rubbish

A cold January morning and still the beach clean went ahead. Organised by Andy Laverick, our local Marine Conservation Society Sea Champion on 20th January.

Eight volunteers including Cllr Denise Dutton (Harington Ward Cllr and Leader of the Conservative Group on Sefton MBC) headed to our stunning Formby Beach armed with plastic bags ready for the clean up. Andy is trying to increase awareness of the problems that litter in the marine environment can bring. It is also an opportunity to make people aware of what wonderful wildlife exists on our beaches and seas.

On the January event, the volunteers worked hard for 90 minutes and collected 126kg of rubbish from Freshfield beach at the National Trust in Formby. This figure included 461 separate items of plastics!

Andy said: "Thankyou to all the volunteers for their brilliant work at the clean up today."

This was the friendly Lobster from a previous beach clean (The Lobster is Andy Laverick)

This isn't just about clearing up rubbish to make our beach look better, there is a serious threat to our wildlife as well. Ropes and wire for example can cause entangling of birds and other wildlife. Some of our best-loved marine wildlife is under threat from the waste and litter in our seas, with hundreds of species accidentally eating or becoming entangled in litter. Litter on our beaches is also hazardous to people so we all have a part to play in turning the tide on litter.

In 2015, over 25,000 tonnes of rubbish was picked up, including 10,000 cotton buds, 25,000 crisp packets and 42,000 tin cans were collected. Cleaners also found an array of unusual items including false teeth, a hammer, a plastic leg, two motorbikes, a Smurf, a breast implant and an Action Man. Some of the rubbish is thrown from ships but, sadly, most of it is left by visitors.

Thousands of Visitors flock to our beaches all year round and sadly, not many of them actually pick up their own litter and take it home, they think it will go out with the tide but this endangers our wildlife and we need to get the message out there....

Take your litter home with you.

The message is quite simple as Kate from Formby's National Trust said: "Please take your rubbish home with you, that is the answer."

So remember next time you visit our beautiful beach, help to keep it beautiful - Take your rubbish home.