Jun 26, 20192 min read

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 over 30 bags of rubbish from Victoria Road Beach, Formby on Friday 21 st of June.

The event was part of the charity’s Beachwatch project. Led by from Andy Laverick, the 191 volunteers collected and recorded the rubbish found along a 200 metre plus 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 event was supported by teams from the following companies:

 Royal Bank of Scotland

(Manchester)

 Vodafone

 Network Rail

 Barclays Technology Centre

(Knutsford)

 Argos local (Ormskirk)

 Payment Shield

 Experian Limited

 Lloyds Banking Group

 Arriva Merseyside

 Carrier

 Sopra Steria

The event was also supported by two school groups from the following schools:

 St Anne’s Primary School (Trafford Park - Manchester)

 Criftins Primary School (Ellesmere, Shropshire)

The beach litter survey recorded a staggering 171 kg of waste; this includes 1038 separate items of plastic. The top 3 finds from this event are shown below:  Plastic / polystyrene pieces: 0 - 2.5 cm – 305  Plastic / polystyrene pieces: 2.5 - 50 cm - 207  Packets: Crisp / sweet / lolly (inc sticks) / sandwich - 186 Thanks must go to everyone who volunteered or who supported this event such as the team at National Trust Formby. 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.