SAS Big Spring Beach Clean 2012
SAS needs your hands on the beach on 24th & 25th March!
The annual SAS Big Spring Beach Clean has been removing marine litter from UK beaches for many years with the help of community volunteers. SAS are today calling on the coastal communities across the UK to join them for the SAS Big Spring Beach Clean at beaches nationwide on 24th & 25th March to help make this year’s event the biggest ever.
Spring time sadly reveals the true severity of the marine litter issue. After a long winter of storms, before local council beach cleaning operations begin for the summer season, the accumulation of litter can often seem at its worst. The amount of marine litter found on UK beaches has almost doubled in the last fifteen years, with a shocking 1,969 litter items found on every kilometre of coastline*. Typical examples of marine litter include rubbish from beach users, sewage-related debris, waste from commercial shipping, nets and fish boxes from fishing vessels and medical waste.
SAS Big Spring Beach Clean events will be led by SAS Regional Reps & SAS Lead Volunteers, with confirmed locations including:
South West England
- Great Western – Newquay – 24/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Fistral – Newquay- NB Has been moved to 31/03/12 – 11:00 – 14:00
- Perranporth – West Cornwall – 25/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Falmouth – East Cornwall – 24/03/12 - 11:00-14:00 (TBC PM Today)
- Perranuthanoe –South Cornwall – 25/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Mawgan Porth – North Cornwall – 24/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Portwrinkle – South East Cornwall – 25/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Bude – North Cornwall – 24/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Saunton – North Devon – 25/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Mothecombe – Devon – 25/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Exmouth – Devon – 25/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Burnham-on-Sea – Somerset – 24/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Minehead – Somerset- 25/03/12 – 11:00-14:00
South Coast of England
- Kimmeridge – Dorset – 25/03/12 – 13:00-15:00
- Isle Of Wight – 25/03/12 - 15:00-17:00
- Brighton – 25/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Brighton – Rottingdean Beach – 25/03/12 - 10:00-12:00
- Brighton – Saltdean – 25/03/12 – 16:00-18:00
- Bournemouth – 25/03/12 – 11:00-14:00
- Southend – Jubilee Beach – 24/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth – 25/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
North East of England
- Mablethorpe – Sandilands – 24/03/12 11:00-14:00
- Saltburn – 24/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Scarborough – 25/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Tynemouth – Longsands – 25/03/12 - 12:00-15:00
North West England
- East Kirby – Wirral – 25/03/12 – 11:00-14:00
Scotland
- Pease Bay – East Lothian – 24/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Dunbar – East Lothian – 25/03/12 – 11:00-14:00
- Newhaven – Wardie Bay- 24/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Machrihanish – 25/03/12 - 10:00-13:00
- Isle of Skye – Talisker – 24/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
Northern Ireland
- Portrush – White Rocks – 24/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
Wales
- Newgale – Pembrokeshire – 24/03/12 - 10:00-13:00
- Rest Bay – Bridgend – 24/03/12 – 11:00-14:00
- Coney Beach – Bridgend – 25/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Llantwit Major – Bridgend – 24/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
- Abersoch – Hells Mouth – North Wales – 25/03/12 - 11:00-14:00
The SAS Big Spring Beach Clean helps tackle the growing problem of marine litter with the help of regional reps, supporters, SAS members and coastal community volunteers. This year SAS is encouraging dedicated volunteers to organise their own beach clean events, offering support and equipment to help empower communities to take positive action to protect local beaches, surf spots and waterways.
SAS Big Spring Beach Clean events also confront the worsening marine litter crisis through the promotion of SAS initiatives such as No Butts on the Beach, Return To Offender and Think Before You Flush. These encourage further individual and corporate action once the beach clean has finished ultimately helping reduce the amount of litter finding its way onto the beach can into the sea.
Hugo Tagholm, SAS Executive Director says: “Over the past few years SAS has seen a dramatic rise in the number of community volunteers getting involved with our beach clean programmes. Communities want to play their part in tackling the marine litter crisis affecting beautiful beaches everywhere, a visible indicator of the ecological disaster happening in our oceans. The SAS Big Spring Beach Clean empowers communities and educates the public on making an on-going positive difference to coastlines.”
The Big Spring Beach Clean will take place between 11am and 2pm on 24th & 25th March 2012, so get ready to roll up your sleeves for UK beaches. For more information on confirmed locations or to register your event please contact Steve Hagan on 01872 555 950 or email projects@sas.org.uk
NOTES
*statistics taken from the 2010 MCS Beachwatch survey
Please note that all official SAS Big Spring Beach Clean organisers will need to fill out an SAS risk assessment document. Once officially registered SAS will notify the council of your event & anticipated volunteer numbers. All organisers must follow SAS’s health and safety advice and briefing instructions. All organisers must ensure they dispose of rubbish collected properly, either by liaising with the local council or taking it to the local refuse disposal & recycling site. Surfers Against Sewage conforms to statutory requirements with regard to employer’s liability and this covers volunteers on beach clean activities.
Materials provided by SAS to volunteers organising beach cleans:
- SAS Big Spring Beach Clean Posters
- SAS Big Beach Clean – organisers’ guide (Including risk assessments, public liability insurance cover and volunteer health and saftey briefing advice)
- Digital Big Spring Beach Clean artwork SAS Stickers
- Think Before You Flush
- No Butts On The Beach
- SAS Eye Logo
- Heavy duty gloves
- Degradable bin bags
- SAS marine litter guides
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 at 9:00 am and is filed under Beach Cleans, Marine Litter, News, No Butts On The Beach. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed.
26 Comments
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Wow! What a disgraceful peoples are the well-to-do. The other stuff like plastic bags floats just under the seas’s surface and suffocates dolphins and marine life generally. Shame upon us!
Can you please let me know when you are coming to Bude North Cornwall
None in Scotland?
There will be, our Scottish Reps are just finalising details. Watch this space.
Hi,I’d happily take on a South Devon beach,I could rally a handful of friends together and do Bantham,Bigbury or beaches in that vicinity.I can advertise in the South Hams area. Or if there’s already an existing project count me in.Many Thanks,Laura.
That would be great – please register by emailing Steve Hagan on projects@sas.org.uk
last year the Kingsbarns clean-upwas great-some of our worst local beaches are in St andrews-i pick up plastic eVERY time i go….perhaps a cleanup to tackle all sT A beaches?????
and the coastal path is usually full of litter too….
Hi Sarah,
Drop me an email on projects@sas.org.uk and I can talk you through potentially organising a clean in the St Andrews area.
Thanks
are there any in norfolk?
i live in perranporth and every day there is so much rubbish from the sea, when i walk my dog i always pick up as much plastic as i can carry and take to a bin. i was thinking, if only there was some kind of degradable bin bag vender on the way into the beach ,with a sign, then people could, if they wished,take a bag and pick as they walk. it needs doing every day, not just once a year, and hopefully people in perranporth enjoy and respect their beach enough to take the initative and do their bit.
Anyone interested in setting up a clean in South Devon? I usually bike to Mothercombe. This is my nearest beach.
I would perhaps Public Transport to another beach. That could be easier for me. Anyone with a lift/car would be a great help. I have no car. I have experience of foraging cleaning beaches.
We have a clean orgaised by a volunteer for Mothercombe. It will be on Sunday 25th March, start times will be posted asap. Keep checking in on the map and facebook page.
Thanks,
Steve
Any beach cleans scheduled for the South East? Hants, Sussex, Kent.
We’re in Surrey, my kids school is one of the top in the country for their environmental awareness & currently working towards a no plastic bags policy in the town. I’m sure I can get some school families interested to join one of the nearest beach cleans!
http://www.ashleyschool.org.uk/prospectus/eco-school/
Will be attending the Saltburn clean up “24th march”. Bringing my mates for a dawn patrol surf and then getting down to the nitty gritty of cleaning. Then a cheeky pint to celebrate:D
Hi Mothecombe. I cant make Sunday, work. Is it posible I could preclean on Saturday? Or head round to Stoke Beach perhaps. I am on a pushbike, so no carying anything (perhaps a litter picker and bags, I am trying to blag from the council).
Looking forward to helping out at Great Western Beach Newquay, Live nearby, see you there!!
Hi,I’m leading the Mothecombe clean,I’m happy to take on another beach too,a couple of days later if that helps.
Doing my first one this weekend , do you supply us with gloves , litter picker claw etc …
Will be going out here in Aberystwyth, regardless of whether there’s an organised clean up or not. We get tourists littering, students littering and crap coming in from the Irish sea.
Hello, I am a SAS memember, looking to do the Saunton clean up….. can we just turn up? or do we have to pass some details on?
What about Norfolk?
Hey Lee,
Thanks for contacting us! Yes just head down to the beach and all will be explained.
SAS
Hey Sian,
Thans for your message, please put a call out on our Facebook page and maybe some people will come and join you!
SAS
Hey Hollie,
Yes please, just head down at the time advertised!
SAS
Hey Holly,
Sadly we didn’t get anybody stepping forward to offer to run one! It would be great if you could rally some people and join in on Staurday or Sunday? Just post onto our Facebook page and maybe people will get involved.
SAS