Chouet beach clean on 19 September 2010 during Beachwatch weekend

September 25th, 2010 by Richard Lord

At first glance Chouet beach didn’t appear to have much litter.  Anne Sandwith found some plastic bags embedded in sand at low tide, which she asked for help to retrieve.  The tide was coming in so it was a race against time.  Only a portion of each plastic bag was exposed and in some cases the plastic was disintegrating so the bags couldn’t be pulled out; they had to be dug out from underneath.  Some of the bags were thin supermarket shopping bags, but others were made of thicker plastic, including black bin bags and fertiliser bags.  The more we looked the more bags we found.  The embedded plastic bags appeared concentrated in the north-east corner of the beach.  One suggestion was that the bags may have been blown out of the nearby Mont Cuet landfill site, landed in the sea, and brought on-shore.

Nylon rope and Nylon netting is a major component of Guernsey’s beach litter.  Nylon rope was abundant in the revetment at the top of Chouet beach.  Not all the rope could be removed because it was trapped between the large revetment stone blocks.

Chouet Beach is used occasionally for car sand racing.  A large number of small pieces of hard plastic were identified as being car parts.  We found a car headlight, a car aerial, a gear stick, and pieces of plastic trim and fenders.  These were identified by a car mechanic who visited the beach during our beach clean.

As we did at Champ Rouget the day before, we found a ball probably used by a dog owner to throw for their pet.

Below is a list of the items recovered from Chouet Beach on the morning of 19 September 2010.

Plastic

1 syringe, 1 razor handle, 3 plastic toys, 6 drinking straws, 24 plastic lids, 1 plastic spoon, 11 pieces of bubble wrap packaging material, 1 plastic dustpan, 75 pieces of plastic sheeting and plastic bags, 23 pieces of Styrofoam, 3 cigarette lighters, 10 pieces of polyurethane, 5 plastic gloves,  1 plastic spoon, 1 toothbrush, 24 plastic lids, 1 sweet container, 1 baby’s dummy, 154 pieces of hard plastic, 20 plastic bottles, 5 pieces of plastic pipe, 1 bicycle reflector, 2 fishing spools, 12 pieces of Nylon strapping material, 126 pieces of Nylon rope and twine

Clothing

1 piece of woman’s clothing, 2 shoes

1 umbrella

Car parts

1 car tire, 1 gear stick, 1 car headlight, 1 car aerial, 1 ignition car lead

Metal

1 disposable barbecue, 6 small pieces of metal, 1 large piece of metal, 3 Aluminium cans

Miscellaneous

1 tennis ball, 1 shotgun cartridge, 1 paint brush, 6 cardboard coffee cups and their plastic lids, 2 pieces of fibreglass, 1 arrow, 15 empty crisp packets, 1 piece of carpet, 1 broom handle, 12 pieces of rubber strap (used to hold bait in crab pot or to close pot door)

The Glorious Victorian walled kitchen garden at Saumarez park

September 25th, 2010 by Richard Lord

The Guernsey Botanical Trust’s Victorian walled kitchen garden in Saumarez Park with its own micro-climate produces a wide variety of garden vegetables, and flowers that are suitable for display in the home.  The garden attracts wildlife.  The Guernsey Botanical Trust’s vision is to recreate the garden that existed over one hundred years ago.  Volunteer gardeners use seaweed to nourish the soil.  Inorganic fertilisers are not used as they were not used by the Victorians.  The Victorians used nicotine to kill pests but this cannot be used today because of its toxicity.

The Lemon Aid Festival was held on 25 September 2010 to celebrate the opening of the new Lemon glasshouse. This glasshouse by Michael and John Brouard is the fourth on the site.  It is a replica of the first glasshouse erected on this site in the early 1830s.

Guernsey Conservation Volunteers clear Portinfer beach during Beachwatch

September 25th, 2010 by Guernsey Conservation Volunteers

On 19 September 2010 during Beachwatch weekend the Guernsey Conservation Volunteers cleared litter from Portinfer beach on Guernsey’s north-west coast.

One volunteered found deflated party balloons with a straggle of ribbon attached.  If released, lighter-than-air helium balloons can travel great distances.  Balloons that settle on the sea may be ingested by marine turtles and cetaceans, which can lead to the death of the animal.  Balloons also cause problems for sea birds due to entanglement in the attached ribbon and string.

Besides the balloons’ negative impact on marine life, the helium that is used to fill the balloon is a finite resource.  Once it is released into the atmosphere it escapes to outer-space.  Helium is used in some medical equipment.   Its finite nature means it probably shouldn’t be used to fill party balloons.

Guernsey south coast beach cleans during Beachwatch weekend 2010

September 25th, 2010 by Events

During Beachwatch weekend Environment Department officer Jan Dockerill collected seaborne litter that had been deposited on the beach at Moulin Huet on Guernsey’s south coast.  Jan Dockerill found there were nearly double the number of plastic bottles and Polystyrene and Polyurethane pieces compared to 2009 but in 2009 the tides and wind direction brought less to the shore.  This is the fifth year Jan Dockerill has been surveying and collecting litter from this bay.

The Adams family regularly clears sea shore litter from neighbouring Saint’s bay.

Debris from the fishing industry including Nylon rope and twine and pieces of hard plastic dominates the debris collected in Saint’s Bay.  Styrofoam and Polyurethane pieces are a ubiquitous problem.

News from Ecomodo – the launch of the London reuse network

September 25th, 2010 by Meriel

Ecomodo reports in their blog the launch of the London reuse network.  Ecomodo writes “currently there are too many quality items going to landfill (furniture, toys, appliances, wood, textile, electrical equipment, bicycles – you get the picture) so the idea of the LRN is to create an integrated reuse service for London delivered through a community-led reuse and repair network.”

Intertrust Services Ltd. employees clean L’Ancresse beach of litter during Beachwatch weekend

September 25th, 2010 by Intertrust Group

Intertrust Group volunteered their time to clean L’Ancresse Beach on a sunny Saturday morning.

During Beachwatch volunteers record what is collected.  This information is sent to the Marine Conservation Society for collation and analysis.  The MCS produce an annual report of the state of British beaches and the amount of litter collected.