Victoria Road Beach, Formby gets a clean up as local volunteers help turn the tide on litter

A team of local Marine Conservation Society (MCS) volunteers have helped clean 28 bags of rubbish from Victoria Road Beach, Formby on Friday 15th of February 2019. The event was part of the charity’s Beachwatch project.

Led by Andy Laverick, the 32 volunteers collected and recorded the rubbish along a 400 metre stretch of beach. The data will help MCS identify the main sources of litter on Victoria Road Beach, Formby and keep the issue of the dangers of marine litter high on the local agenda.

The beach litter survey recorded a staggering 205 kg of waste; this includes 628 separate items of plastic. The top 3 finds were as follows: 106 - Plastic / polystyrene pieces: 0 - 2.5 cm 80 - Packets: Crisp / sweet / lolly (inc sticks) / sandwich 68 – Glass pieces.

The 32 volunteers worked on along a 400 meter stretch to achieve this total in 90 minutes Massive thanks must go to all volunteers involved and all the National Trust Formby team for their vital support with these events.

Andy Laverick says these beaches clean are vital: “Beach litter isn’t just unsightly; it can also be very dangerous to both humans and wildlife. MCS is working towards ensuring local communities right up to UK governments work together to try and stop littering at source.

If you would like to get involved in future events, then please contact: greatbritishbeachcleanformby@yahoo.com