Volunteers clean up Limkin

Despite the freezing temperatures, a group of 13 hardy volunteers turned up to take part in a beach clean of Limkin Shore, part of the St. Abbs and Eyemouth Voluntary Marine Reserve on 17th February.

Limkin Shore was adopted by the St. Abbs and Eyemouth Voluntary Marine Reserve in 2002 as part of the Marine Conservation Society�s national Adopt-a-Beach scheme, and since then they have carried out 26 clean ups of the beach.

Adopt-a-Beach involves undertaking a clean up of the beach 4 times a year. All the litter collected is recorded, and the results are then sent to the Marine Conservation Society so they can monitor what types of litter are found on UK beaches and in what quantities.

The most common type of litter collected was made from plastic, as this never fully degrades and the strangest item found was a set of false teeth! The most concerning items were hundreds of small polystyrene pellets. These are especially worrying as they are easily mistaken for food by marine creatures and ingested, which gives them a sense of fullness without providing any nutrition. Also, despite the hard work of the volunteers, it was impossible to collect every single one as they are so small and numerous, so they can never be fully removed from the marine environment.

Georgia Conolly, Marine Ranger for the Reserve said, �Beach cleans are important not only to clear up our beaches for humans and wildlife, but also to monitor trends in marine litter. We couldn�t manage the beach cleans without the hard work and dedication of the volunteers, so a big thank you to them�.

To find out how you can take part in a beach clean please contact the Marine Ranger on 0844 493 2256, email her on [email protected] or visit the Marine Conservation Society website http://www.mcsuk.org to find a beach clean near you.