Rural and Environment

In the news: Beach clean

November 28, 2019 by admin No Comments | Category Climate Change, drs, Environment

You may have seen in the media today (Guardian, BBC) that the Marine Conservation Society has released the results of its most recent Great British Beach Clean.

In Scotland, the results show it was another record-breaking year, with more beach cleans taking place and more volunteers getting involved than ever before. The survey found that 7,669 kg of litter was removed from the Scottish coastline as a result of their efforts.

Responding to the survey and the Society’s call for glass to be included in Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme, a Scottish Government spokesperson said:

SG spokesperson said:

“The Scottish Government welcomes the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean 2019 report and we thank the increasing number of volunteers for their time and efforts to clean our beaches, not just at this event but year round. The citizen science data gathered, in combination with other evidence, supports change as we work to reduce marine litter in our seas and on our shores as part of our wider work to grow our circular economy. We are proud to be the first administration in the UK to legislate against plastic-stemmed cotton buds and to commit to introducing a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers, and look forward to working with MCS as we review our Marine Litter Strategy, aiming for a cleaner environment in the future.

“We remain fully committed to the inclusion of glass in our ambitious Deposit Return Scheme as part of our response to the global climate emergency. We believe that DRS represents our best opportunity to deliver increases in glass recycling rates, helping to reduce the amount of dangerous glass litter in our environment.”

Tags: beach clean, deposit return, drs, Glass, litter, Marine Conservation Society, marine litter, Scotland

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