The event, which ran between 12 and 14 February, was organised by Channel Islands environmental groups Littlefeet Environmental, the Clean Earth Trust, the Alderney Wildlife Trust and the Société Sercquaise. A total of 367 individuals from across the Channel Islands took part, clearing 195kg of litter from beaches in Jersey, 441kg of litter from Guernsey’s beaches and 166kg of waste in Alderney and Sark.
Courtney Farmer, project co-ordinator of Jersey charity Littlefeet Environmental, said that one of the biggest differences noted in the litter collected this year was the prevalence of discarded PPE.
‘While general litter is status quo, the biggest thing we noticed is that discarded PPE, such as masks and latex gloves, is washing up quite frequently now.’
Mrs Farmer said that PPE should be discarded with care, as it could be ingested by animals and pose a threat to local wildlife.
‘With masks in particular, when they wash up wildlife can get entangled in their straps,’ she said. ‘We’ve had a couple of geese in Jersey that have ended up with masks around their necks.
‘People should cut the straps when they go in the bin. From a medical standpoint, obviously single-use PPE equipment is applicable to what they do. But for other individuals, if you can use reusable, washable masks that can reduce the waste we are throwing away.’
While Covid-19 restrictions meant that the format of this year’s beach clear had to be adapted, Mrs Farmer said that this led to a more comprehensive Island clean.
‘Usually we organise two to three beach cleans and everyone piles down onto the same beach,’ she said.
‘It was a shame we didn’t all get to clean together this year, having to be socially distanced, but it worked out well in the end, as it allowed for almost every beach in Jersey to be cleaned. We also had relatively the same turnout, which was fantastic, considering the circumstances.’
This year’s Big Channel Islands Beach Clean event coincided with the launch of Littlefeet Environmental’s new beach cleaning website – launched via Ports of Jersey at ports.je/littlefeet – which aims to track what is washing up on Jersey’s shores.
‘People can log in and upload details of where and when their beach cleaning event is going to take place,’ said Mrs Farmer. ‘They can then follow up with their findings, such as photos of what was collected, any unusual finds, the weight of items collected and how many volunteers participated in the beach clean.’
