Volunteers net tonnes of trash in Great Dorset Beach Clean

On Sunday volunteers swept the shoreline from Lyme Regis to Christchurch and filled sacks with rubbish that has been dropped or washed up on Dorset’s 26 beaches.

The 21st Great Dorset Beach Clean saw tonnes of rubbish collected from local beaches including Abbotsbury, Chesil Cove, Portland Harbour, Bowleaze Cove, Ringstead and Durdle Door.

The day was organised by the Dorset Countryside Coastal Ranger team with support from the Dorset Coast Forum.

One of its main aims is to protect the county’s marine wildlife to safeguard Dorset’s environment by removing as much rubbish as possible from the coast.

The day also enables local people to become involved in positive action along their coast.

Beach clean organiser and coastal ranger John Hayes said: “Dorset is blessed with an army of people willing to give up a couple of hours on a Sunday to clean the county’s beaches. It is just a shame that events such as this have to be organised at all.”

Mr Hayes added that the items collected included rubbish dropped by people visiting the beaches, plus refuse washed ashore off boats and ships.

He said: “People’s attitudes have got to change and we have to start looking after our beaches. People have to realise that dropping rubbish anywhere, be it on the beach or anywhere in the countryside, is a really uncool thing to do.”

Teams of Brownies and Scouts rolled their sleeves up and got involved with other volunteers from the community in Bowleaze Cove.

Volunteers at the beach clean used biodegradable plastic bags to collect thousands of items of rubbish.

This year efforts were made to limit the impact on landfill by separating all plastic drinking bottles so they can be recycled by local councils.

Students from Kingston Maurward, who turned out at Chiswell Cove on Portland, will also be analysing the different types of rubbish that have washed up on a selection of the beaches as part of an in-depth study for their marine ecology and conservation course.