Surfers Beach Clean to Remove Mulheim litter at Sennen

Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) campaigners held a beach clean at Sennen and Gamper Bay, near Land's End, Cornwall on Friday 31st March 2006.

Particular emphasis was made on removing 'RMS Mulheim' cargo that is still littering the area 3 years on from when the vessel collided with rocks in Gamper Bay.

The action took place in the week that the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) published its 2005 Beachwatch report. The survey's findings were particularly worrying with 1,981 items of litter being found per kilometre of coastline surveyed. Plastic items, like much of the Mulheim litter, account for 59% of all beach litter found in the UK.

Shipping accidents like the Mulheim leave nothing but a legacy of pollution. Whilst our beach clean removed over 20 bin bags of Mulheim waste it will be only be when the shipping industry takes tough action and the Government designates areas most at environmental risk that we will have to less fear. In particular SAS would like to see an end to the use of flags of convenience that shipping companies use to help avoid environmental prosecution and allow for the use of inexperienced, poorly paid crews.

SAS would like to thank Greg Martin at www.findyourwave.co.uk for images.

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