Making a difference - beach clean volunteers

Emma Chaplin
, 16 May 2022
Making a difference - beach clean volunteers
Beach clean © Miles Davies

Julia Hoare

Approximately once a month, a number of Sussex Wildlife Trust volunteers turn out to conduct a beach clean and litter survey on one of our Sussex beaches.

Armed with a litter picker, pencil and a survey sheet they set out to forage for litter including small items that may be hidden in the sand, pebbles or amongst the strandline seaweeds.

At first glance beaches can look very clean but the surveyors forensic style search usually reveals a multitude of items; a running tally of litter collected is kept as volunteers note down every item they find. At the end of the beach clean the litter is weighed, tallies are added up and wherever possible items are sorted for recycling.

Along with the data from thousands of other surveys around the UK, our Sussex Wildlife Trust data is submitted to ‘Beachwatch’ the Marine Conservation Society’s national litter survey programme which has been running for nearly 30 years. This long-term data set is not only unique, but is hugely important in helping to identify beach litter trends and patterns over time.

Beachwatch data is shared nationally and internationally with hundreds of organisations that are working to help stop marine pollution and protect our seas. These organisations use the data to lobby Governments for legislative change, influence industry practices and drive campaigns that aim to change corporate and public behaviour.

To date some significant achievements of the Beachwatch litter survey data include the introduction of the plastic bag charge, the ban of microplastics in personal care products, better wet wipe labelling and progress towards a ban or tax single use plastics and a deposit return system.

So far in 2022 our volunteers have collected and surveyed over 3800 items of litter collectively weighing 143kg from the Sussex Coast. Approximately 66% of these items were plastic or polystyrene; items that would have degraded into smaller and smaller pieces, eventually becoming microplastics that cause such a problem to wildlife. This volunteer work is not only of direct benefit to the local environment, but it also contributes to an important evidence base that will help improve the state of our oceans.

Some of our data:

Year

Litter survey volunteer hours

Mass of litter removed/ Kg

No of litter items surveyed and removed

Notes

2019

570

368

20,303

2020

60

53

2739

Impact of lockdowns

2021

104

87

3390

2022 so far

100

137

3164
Leave a comment

Comments

  • Maria:

    My wife and I have over the last 6-8 weeks been cleaning the beach area in Ovingdean near to Rottingdean we have found 3 lobster pots lots of iron tyres and parts of boats fishing tackle and plastic bags. Mostly around and stuck in between the sea defence roaches and chalk.
    We are proud of what we have done as every little helps, no option to provide pictures but we can do if you want.

    12 May 2022 11:02:00

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    Great to hear about you taking care of your local beach and removing litter. Thank you for your efforts.

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782926353.06690 [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
1782926353.11360.0467Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782926353.11380.0002Server address: 216.73.217.103
1782926353.11390.0001Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782926353.11390Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/making-a-difference-beach-clean-volunteers
    [s] => making-a-difference-beach-clean-volunteers
    [1] => making-a-difference-beach-clean-volunteers
)
1782926353.11420.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926353.11590.0017 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782926353.11780.0019 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782926353.12210.0043INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782926353.12620.004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22490626
1782926353.12680.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22490626
1782926353.12750.0007 [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
1782926353.12880.0014 [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='making-a-difference-beach-clean-volunteers')) 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
1782926353.13240.0036 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782926353.1330.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2773 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-01 17:19:00'
1782926353.13380.0009 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782926353.13460.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782926353.13530.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=44 LIMIT 1
1782926353.13590.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=47 LIMIT 1
1782926353.13650.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782926353.13670.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782926353.13760.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-01 17:19:00' AND postSlug='making-a-difference-beach-clean-volunteers'
1782926353.16110.0235Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782926353.16170.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782926353.16350.0018Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782926353.16370.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782926353.16460.0009 [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
1782926353.1660.0013 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782926353.1690.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926353.16960.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782926353.17170.0021Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782926353.17180.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782926353.17270.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782926353.17320.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782926353.1760.0028 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782926353.1770.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782926353.17770.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782926353.18030.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926353.18120.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782926353.18340.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782926353.1840.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782926353.18430.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1782926353.18510.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782926353.18540.0004 [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='making-a-difference-beach-clean-volunteers')) 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
1782926353.18750.0021 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782926353.18810.0006 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782926353.19180.0037Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782926353.19290.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2773 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782926353.24710.0542 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782926353.24770.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782926353.24790.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1782926353.24880.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782926353.24940.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782926353.250.0006 [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
1782926353.25210.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926353.25270.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782926353.25460.0019 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782926353.25560.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782926353.25620.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782926353.25670.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782926353.25910.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926353.25970.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782926353.26150.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782926353.26480.0032 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782926353.26550.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782926353.2660.0005 [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
1782926353.26820.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926353.26890.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782926353.27150.0026 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782926353.27420.0027 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782926353.2750.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782926353.27560.0006 [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
1782926353.2780.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782926353.27840.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782926353.28050.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782926353.28170.0012Request time: 0.2178
1782926353.28170Process time: 0.2176
1782926353.28170Memory: 1.6291