Changes in beach clean finds by EQUANS

Emma Chaplin
, 03 October 2022
Changes in beach clean finds by EQUANS
Graham Batty (left) and colleagues at Ovingdean beach

EQUANS is a utilities company that provides low-carbon energy solutions.

They have supported Sussex Wildlife Trust through the 'Work for Wildlife' work parties since 2019 and recently took part in their fourth corporate beach clean in three years as their team awayday. 

This year team member Graham Batty tells us about the day as well as the differences they have found between beaches they have surveyed over the years:

"Sixteen members of the BS Technical team arrived on Ovingdean beach in early September to carry out a beach clean. We were met by Julia Hoare of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, who had set up the day for us.

After a health and safety briefing, we began our beach clean, on a 100-meter stretch of beach, opposite the Grand Hotel. 

In previous years doing the collection at Ovingdean Beach we collected numerous fishing items, machined wood and plastics. This year we were in party central with the majority of items picked being made up of 274 beer bottle tops, 78 champagne corks, sweet wrappers and plastic caps and small plastic fragments.

The team surveyed 1,336 items of beach litter weighing over 14.83 kg. Not only this, but our presence inspired some local people to get involved. We even had our photograph taken by a Spanish journalist.

Black-headed Gulls © Dennis Hunt
Black-headed Gulls © Dennis Hunt

Amongst our finds were over 250 small pieces of plastic. This is really significant because these are the items that, unless they are removed from the beaches, will degrade into smaller microplastics which are very damaging to the environment. They are likely to be ingested and passed on in the food chain of both aquatic and terrestrial organisms. The microplastics won’t decompose but degrade further and remain a long term environmental issue."

Many thanks to the EQUANS team for their hard work. More here about beach cleans with Sussex Wildlife Trust 

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782926343.82850 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782926343.85360.0251Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782926343.85380.0002Server address: 216.73.217.103
1782926343.85380Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782926343.85380Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/changes-in-beach-clean-finds-by-equans
    [s] => changes-in-beach-clean-finds-by-equans
    [1] => changes-in-beach-clean-finds-by-equans
)
1782926343.85420.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926343.85530.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782926343.85720.0019 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22490622
1782926343.85790.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22490622
1782926343.85850.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-01 17:19:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-01 17:19:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782926343.86010.0016 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='changes-in-beach-clean-finds-by-equans')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-01 17:19:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782926343.86270.0026 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782926343.86340.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2890 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-01 17:19:00'
1782926343.86410.0008 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782926343.86490.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782926343.86550.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=47 LIMIT 1
1782926343.86610.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782926343.86640.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782926343.86730.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-01 17:19:00' AND postSlug='changes-in-beach-clean-finds-by-equans'
1782926343.88780.0205Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782926343.88840.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782926343.88990.0015Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782926343.89020.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782926343.8910.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782926343.89220.0011 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782926343.89520.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926343.89590.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782926343.89820.0023Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782926343.89820.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782926343.89930.0011 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782926343.89980.0006 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782926343.90250.0026 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782926343.90350.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782926343.90410.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782926343.90680.0027 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926343.90780.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782926343.910.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782926343.91050.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782926343.9110.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1782926343.91170.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782926343.91220.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='changes-in-beach-clean-finds-by-equans')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-01 17:19:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782926343.9140.0019 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782926343.91450.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782926343.91730.0028Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782926343.91840.0011 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2890 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782926343.96790.0494 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782926343.96810.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782926343.96830.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1782926343.96910.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782926343.96990.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782926343.97050.0006 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782926343.97260.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926343.97320.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782926343.97510.002 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782926343.9760.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782926343.97660.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782926343.9770.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782926343.97940.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926343.980.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782926343.9820.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782926343.98530.0033 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782926343.98620.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782926343.98660.0004 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782926343.98910.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926343.98960.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782926343.99180.0021 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782926343.99410.0023 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782926343.99490.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782926343.99540.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782926343.99740.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926343.99780.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782926343.99990.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782926344.00120.0013Request time: 0.1748
1782926344.00120Process time: 0.1746
1782926344.00120Memory: 1.6241