Local community group Planet Aware IW has removed over 1.5 tonnes of litter from the Island’s coastline this year – but it’s always a challenge to retrieve the debris. The recent winter storms have left some of the Island’s most beautiful beaches and coves overwhelmed with large volumes of litter and debris. Andrew Dean, a local Planet Aware volunteer, has said:
“With the increased storms more of our discarded items and mismanaged waste is being washed into shore. It’s a challenge to retrieve the debris, often up steps and over fields, it’s certainly been a way of keeping fit this year! It’s frustrating that the steps have been damaged recently as we want to get back to some of these areas. “On certain beaches over 60% of what we collect comes from shipping and fishing-related items. We also find everyday items we all use in our day to day lives. including plastic bottles and beach toys, helium balloons, clothing, shoes and literally anything you can think of turns up in time!”
At a recent Clean Up at Watershoot Bay, a stunning beach in the AONB close to St Catherine’s Lighthouse, Planet Aware volunteers cleared 260kg in just a few hours. Seb, another volunteer, says:
“When you see so much “rubbish” on the beach it motivates you to think about the all the stuff and the waste we produce and what we can do to stop it polluting our planet’
