1 Ton monthly average - plastic from local beaches

[Dorrie]

Caithness Beach Cleans has just reached 12 Tons of plastic waste removed THIS year from local beaches. Although I have said that is a 1 ton monthly average in fact it isn't, as due to lockdown most of us were unable to go out to beaches. Still we made up for it once we were allowed.
We don't do anything organised. We just ask people to weigh what they pick up and send the group a photo of the weight of plastic they have removed - we even supply scales and litter pickers to beach walkers. A fairly normal amount of picked litter is 2lb (sorry Old School here). We are a facebook group and if you would like to join us, just search for Caithness Beach Cleans.
Some examples of plastics gathered from beaches:
35478

[ecb]

Well done for doing that. Is the plastic waste mostly stuff brought in by the tide or is it mostly litter left by visitors or fly tippers?

[badger]

Wonder how many people in Highland like me received a large plastic label stuck to a plastic sheet (same as the ones we get to stick on brown bins) with the dates our bins will actually be collected since our calendars include 25 December and 1 January? Why not a paper note? It has a recycle image at the top but I don't believe it can be. Anyway wouldn't paper be cheaper? Not as if we need to stick it on anything.

[The Horseman]

Whilst sailing offshore from New York Harbour to Bermuda...800 miles, and The Azores..1600 miles, several times we came in contact with ACRES of garbage(rubbish)...in the Ocean!
40 miles off New York Harbour is an Official Dumping zone. We saw 2 massive barges measuring 800 feet X 600 feet, loaded perhaps 30/40 feet high with two Cats pushing the rubbish into the water.
Google these things...Did you know that the West Coast of Scotland was an Official Nuke dumping zone, hidden from the Public. It’s going on all over the place.
Dounreay’s official releases stated that the Nuke rubbish escaoed...Not so......It was dumped!
We arrived 12 miles off Bermuda in the early hours in heavy weather, and were told to ‘heave to’...stand by until 11am as two Cruise Ships were leaving St Georges.......they did and as they got about 7/8 miles from the Island they ‘ DUMPED THEIR BILGES’ which means they dumped all their Sewage, rubbish and paper into the Sea. It was one stinking mess for acres!....
AND SO IT GOES ON!
Well done for the initiative!

[ecb]

Whilst sailing offshore from New York Harbour to Bermuda...800 miles, and The Azores..1600 miles, several times we came in contact with ACRES of garbage(rubbish)...in the Ocean!
40 miles off New York Harbour is an Official Dumping zone. We saw 2 massive barges measuring 800 feet X 600 feet, loaded perhaps 30/40 feet high with two Cats pushing the rubbish into the water.
Google these things...Did you know that the West Coast of Scotland was an Official Nuke dumping zone, hidden from the Public. It’s going on all over the place.
Dounreay’s official releases stated that the Nuke rubbish escaoed...Not so......It was dumped!
We arrived 12 miles off Bermuda in the early hours in heavy weather, and were told to ‘heave to’...stand by until 11am as two Cruise Ships were leaving St Georges.......they did and as they got about 7/8 miles from the Island they ‘ DUMPED THEIR BILGES’ which means they dumped all their Sewage, rubbish and paper into the Sea. It was one stinking mess for acres!....
AND SO IT GOES ON!
Well done for the initiative!

I hope if people / companies are doing that off the coast of Scotland, that they are stopped from doing it and have to pay to clean up the mess.

[pat]

ecb

surely it is not only off the coast of Scotland but anywhere in the world they should be stopped doing this - the sea is tidal and everything in the sea moves about and nobody can control where this detritus end up.
Can remember sailing across Atlantic and being surprised at bags of rubbish being thrown out at night - asked crew, was told it was kitchen waste which would feed the fish, when I asked about the plastic bags the question was ignored!!
Needless to say I did not believe the answer I was given,

[The Horseman]

There is nowhere to store the Rubbish or Sewage, on a ship holding 6,000+ people.
And remember we in the Western World, are now doing something about it.
What about China/Africa etc., etc.....
I have seen...literally Acres of plastic....bottles, nets...you name it, in the Sea!
Hundreds/thousands of Steel Containers get lost off cargo ships every year......some of them float just below the water.
I spotted one near The Azores, which would have caused us to sink if we had hit it!
BUT.......C’st la Vie!