Over 50 volunteers turn out for beach clean by SAS

Think Before You Flush Campaign Message Pushed

More than 50 volunteers turned up at Porthtowan beach last Saturday to help Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) campaigners with our annual beach clean at Porthtowan as part of the MCS Beach Watch survey. Mid way through the beach clean, the group broke off to learn about the problems with sewage related debris on UK beaches and to promote a campaign message of ‘Think Before You Flush'.

SAS adopted Porthtowan beach in 2003, as part of the Marine Conservation Society's national Beach Watch Report. Saturday's beach clean included a survey of the litter on Porthtowan. This information will contribute towards a larger picture of what is on our beaches all around the UK.

Marine litter, by its very definition is man made, so the reason our beaches are covered in litter is due to mans direct or indirect actions. Even beaches that look clean at first glance, like Porthtowan, can be covered in hundreds of thousands of pieces of litter. The vast majority of the litter we found was plastic. Plastics are extremely persistent in the marine environment and can lead to carcinogenic chemicals entering our food chain. Plastics also pose a great threat to marine life with over 100,000 dolphins, whales, sharks, turtles and sea birds dieing each year from ingestion or suffocation on marine litter.

A constant problem on Porthtowan, and many other beaches around the UK, is the consistent presence of sewage related debris, especially the cotton bud stick. To highlight this problem we had a toilet on the beach with a giant Think Before You Flush banner and gave out free Think Before You Flush stickers. The toilet is not and should not be used as a wet bin, but millions of us flush sanitary products like cotton bud sticks, tampons and tampon applicators, sanitary towels and condoms down the toilet instead of butting them in a bin. These sanitary products can and do cause blockages in the sewerage system resulting in untreated sewage escaping into our seas, reducing water quality. SAS is calling on everybody to Think Before You Flush!

Andy Cummins, SAS campaign Officer says: "Saturday was a great success, we had glorious sunshine and even some surf for after the beach cleaning. More than 50 people turned up and helped clean up Porthtowan and we managed to collect over 77 kilos of litter in the 4 hours. Unfortunately we found a lot of sewage related debris, especially cotton bud sticks, confirming that people need our free Think Before You Flush campaign stickers for a reminder in their bathrooms.

SAS would like to say a special thanks to all the volunteers who helped on the day, in particular, Emily Priestly and the GE Money crew, Finisterre, Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Falmouth and Exeter Student Unions'"

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