ABOUT THE BEACH CLEAN PROJECT

We are surrounded by waste. Unfortunately, much of it is carried from the land by wind, streams and outlet pipes to our shores and ends up in the ocean to add to waste already deposited there by fishing boats and vessels of all kinds. It’s estimated that over 170 trillion plastic particles are floating in the ocean.

 Our island may appear pristine at first glance, but when you look more closely marine litter is present in quantities on all our beaches. The problem is beyond the resources which can be committed by the States of Guernsey. But fortunately, there are many environmentally aware and public-spirited individuals prepared to tackle the problem. 

That’s where the Beach Clean Project comes in. It’s a citizen science initiative designed to harness the goodwill of volunteers to take part in beach clean events we organise. These may be our regular beach cleans open to any member of the public, a tailor-made beach clean for the employees of corporate bodies, or a beach clean done as part of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme or by supporting u3a beach cleans.

In each instance the volunteers help to sort and categorise the waste found so that the resulting data can be logged. In addition, we receive data submitted via the survey report form on our website by people doing their own independent beach cleans. The data accumulated during the year is then used to prepare our annual Marine Litter Reports. 

We encourage people who can’t get to our events and wish to do independent beach cleans by providing information on what is involved through our Marine Litter Guide and we ask that they complete our survey form so their data can be included in our Marine Litter Reports. The Marine Litter Guide and Survey Forms are in the links below.

MARINE LITTER REPORT

Our annual Marine Litter Reports set out the data on waste found on our shores in each calendar year and provide insights into patterns and developments relating to it. The published data is used to support our policy objectives and is supplied to other bodies concerned about our environment such as the Nature Commission.

The first report related to the 2021 calendar year and this has been followed by reports for each subsequent year. Copies of all reports can be viewed below.