Time for a clean break
BEACH READY: Sarah Marshall looks at how holidaymakers can do their bit to stop plastics harming our oceans and marine wildlife.
ADING through seaweed tangled with carrier bags and building sandcastles laced with cigarette butts is not your usual idea of a fun trip to the seaside.
Indeed, the need to keep our beaches clean is a message that’s been circulated for some time. But with reports suggesting an estimated 6.4 million tonnes of litter is entering our oceans each year, there’s still a considerable amount of work to be done.
This month, the Make Holidays Greener campaign (jointly delivered by the Travel Foundation and Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations) is urging holidaymakers to keep beaches plastic-free. Last year, the campaign resulted in 600 bags of rubbish being collected from 97 beaches worldwide, and holidaymakers can participate in similar Big Holiday Beach Clean events in Europe throughout July.
There are currently 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic floating in our oceans, including cigarette butts, shopping bags, crisp packets and bottles. Some areas of ocean contain six times more microscopic plastic particles than plankton.
Not only is the litter unsightly, it’s also a grave threat to marine wildlife and is even entering our own food chain. At least 267 different species are known to have suffered from entanglement in or ingestion of marine debris. Turtles often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and eat them. The bags then block their stomachs, leading to starvation. Seabirds also mistake plastics for food, and 90 per cent of fulmars found dead around the North Sea have plastic in their stomachs.
Holidaymakers are being encouraged to alter their beach behaviour and avoid the build-up of plastics in the first place. Many European countries lack the sophisticated recycling set-up we have at home, so it’s advisable to remove any bulky packaging before visiting the beach and to carry food and drink in reusable picnic containers. Cigarette butts should be collected and taken away.
Fortunately, the majority of Europe’s beaches already comply with strict environmental regulations so there’s still plenty of opportunity to swim in clean, clear water this summer.
According to the 2014 European Bathing Water Quality report, compiled by the European Environment Agency, 95 per cent of the bathing water sites studied complied with minimum water quality standards (in both coastal and inland areas). Six countries were considered excellent – Croatia, Greece, Cyprus, Germany, Luxembourg and Malta.