To celebrate the end of lockdown, the President of Peterborough Ortons Rotary Club, Clive Doubleday, organised a beach clean at Hunstanton in Norfolk.
Blessed with glorious sunshine and a gentle sea breeze, members of eight Rotary clubs from two Rotary Districts (Midlands & East Anglia), in partnership with a team from The River Trust, came together to clean up old Hunstanton beach.
Rotarians from Peterborough Orton gathered to clean Hunstanton beach Before the work, the Rotarians presented a cheque for £200 to the Hunstanton RNLI lifeboat station to support their lifesaving work.
Before the work, the Rotarians presented a cheque for £200 to the Hunstanton RNLI lifeboat station to support their lifesaving work.
Rotarians cleared the beach of plastic, which had washed up from the sea
It was then time for the army of litter pickers to descend on Old Hunstanton Beach to wage war against what is fast becoming one of our planet’s most unsightly and deadly foes: plastic pollution.
All finds were logged, and a survey of plastics found will be carried out as part of Preventing Plastic Pollution, a cross-border project studying and mapping plastic pollution in the Channel area.
Rotary and The Rivers Trust have joined forces to try to stem the tide of pollution reaching our waterways. The plan is to map plastic pollution hotspots from source to sea on both sides of the Channel.
Around 80% of plastic waste found in the sea comes from a land source and millions of tons of plastic pollution make it to the ocean each year.”
Clive Doubleday pointed out how plastic is almost everywhere. “Take a quick look around your home or garden,” he said.
Rotarians volunteered as part of their mission to Prevent Plastic Pollution
“Sadly, more and more of it is appearing on our beaches, roadsides, parks, riverbanks, ultimately ending up in our oceans.
“Around 80% of plastic waste found in the sea comes from a land source and millions of tons of plastic pollution make it to the ocean each year.”
As public awareness continues to grow, Rotarians have formed a dedicated group: The Plastic Waste Initiative, aiming to carry out community research.
Preventing Plastic Pollution is an ambitious joined-up project which addresses all issues around plastic pollution.”
One of its immediate goals is to support clubs with local initiatives, such as this beach clean, designed to directly address plastic pollution.
Clare Whitelegg, from the Rivers Trust, said: “Preventing Plastic Pollution is an ambitious joined-up project which addresses all issues around plastic pollution.
“We seek to work with a range of community partners to effect change in river catchments, like the Great Ouse. It is fantastic to have the support of Rotary in this region.”
