We returned to Swansea Beach for another beach clean. We were joined by students from the Gower College Swansea. Students volunteered their time as part of their public services course. We had a total of 31 volunteers, 25 of which were students.
We loved the enthusiasm of the students, who came to dedicate their time and effort to clean up the beach. With 60.59 kilos of litter collected, it’s evident that their hard work paid off. It’s also great to know that they managed to fill 26 bags, showing a significant impact from their cleanup efforts. Spending over an hour cleaning demonstrates their dedication to preserving the environment and ensuring the beach remains clean and safe for everyone to enjoy.
There are some items we find on almost every beach clean. Rubbish such as ghost gear, plastic bottles, and food wrappers, are common to find. However, we also find lots of unusual items beach cleanups, such as:
- A shopping trolley
- Fabric sheeting
- A lightbulb
- Plastic dart toys
It just goes to highlights the diversity of litter that can accumulate on our beaches. We quickly discovered that Swansea Beach is covered with tiny little pieces of plastic called microplastic. We tried our best to get rid of them however the sheer amount was staggering. While it’s challenging to completely rid the beach of microplastics due to their abundance and small size, the volunteers’ efforts in picking them up whenever they are spotted is still crucial. Every piece of microplastic removed from the beach helps mitigate its impact on the environment.
We would like to say a big thank you to all the volunteers for their invaluable efforts in making Swansea beach a cleaner and safer place for everyone to enjoy. This clean adds to our annual total of 888.87 kilos of litter collected so far in 2024.
