Volunteers in Lyme Regis warn of increased litter, especially microplastics, creating a worrying tideline on the beach.
About 25 volunteers met at the RNLI shop. They wanted to clean before holiday week. The shop is located at The Cobb. Janet Breeze organizes these litter picks.
She said people are usually polite. However, food packaging washes ashore often. New food places in Lyme Regis add to litter. Janet believes retailers should help. They could tell people not to litter, she suggested. Dogs can hurt their paws, and litter hurts kids.
Microplastics worry the team now too. Janet says they are washing up a lot. She saw bottle tops before, but now it’s worse. Microplastics create a tideline now.
The problem has worsened over twenty years. It is bad. They are distressing because birds eat them. This puts plastics into the food chain. Boat maintenance creates waste too.
People scrape chemicals and leave trash. This happens on the harbour shoreline. Toxic stuff goes into the ocean. Janet finds plastic bits and sponges. She also finds wrappers.
This makes clean up harder. It is frustrating to see, she said. Boaters should see the impact, noted Janet. Bins are well-placed, but summer needs more. Tourists cause bins to overflow then.
Locals are mostly careful, but summer worsens things. Dorset Council does well with waste. Still, people shove cigarette butts in walls. They try to raise awareness about litter. They use posters and beer mats.
More education is what they need. Ocean Conservancy says eight million tons of plastic enter oceans yearly. Much of it washes up on beaches everywhere. Dorset Council is aware of concern.
They see no excess mess or spills now. They will remind harbour users about care. Their team will clean existing mess, if needed.