Polystyrene... what would you do?

 The polystyrene conundrum.... should you pick up the big pieces before they break down, or, the small pieces because they are easily eaten by wildlife?

I don't know the answer, but this is a question that is frequently in my thoughts......

stay safe x

Hooked.....

 I regularly find fishing hooks; sometimes on their own, and other times attached to fishing lines....

I know i have lost (and still do at times) rubbish; accidentally dropping it or it blowing out of our hands. I dont claim to know anything about fishing, but i expect its sometimes difficult to not lose tackle.

This hook i found has lost its very sharp end, but it still looks pretty lethal! I am so relieved Woody didn't stand on it, r worse still eat it! It is easy to understand and imagine the damage and threat they pose to the marine environment.... but what's the answer?

Stay safe x

Time travelling at Pentewan Beach - Cornwall

 Pentewan beach is really fascinating, the river that meets the sea runs all the way from St Austell. Steeped in history, there is often a treasure to be found. The copious amounts of sea glass temp treasure hunters, and Pentewan never disappoints.

There was a few bits of plastic and litter to be found, sadly i couldn't find a BB date on the can, it had deteriorated too much.

Lots of big chunks of sea glass and a clay pipe stem

After all the rain, the blue skies and sunshine were a welcome sight... roll on spring!

Where the river runs into the sea, a plastic bottle was buried and lodged between the sand and rocks. An old vacuum cleaner base was crusted in lumps of rust and rock; i wonder how long it has been in the river / sea? Sadly there was no makers mark / brand etc to research how old it was. It was heavy, so if it was plastic, it wasn't the modern plastic we find in abundance today

Pentewan is such a beautiful village steeped in history, it is always a joy to visit... and how lucky am i to have this on my doorstep!

Stay safe x

Polkerris Just As Day is Dawning

 Due to an early meeting, Woody and I had to get a walk in before 8.30am! Torch in hand and reflective coat for Woody and we were all systems go!

Despite not being able to see much ! It was so lovely and peaceful being on the beach before dawn.

The dark made beach cleaning a little tricky, nonetheless, we managed to collect half a bag of micro plastcs

The tide had brought in a fresh tideline of micro plastics; every year the nurdles seem to get bigger and increase the range of colours. It is an impossible task to remove them :/ 

But! every item taken off the beach, is one less that's going to cause harm the marine environment.... so that's got to be worth it

stay safe x

Spit Point - Cornwall : Peace and Tranquility

 Todays adventure found us visiting Spit Point, on our walk down to the beach we passed a lovely chap, who said we would have the beach to ourselves! Perfect!

Woody enjoyed the opportunity to investigate the beach off the lead; he even managed to find some plastic which washed up! It was a little big for us to lug home though :( 

On the whole, there was little litter / plastic pollution along this stretch of coast, but you needed to get amongst the rocks to find most of it; this is where it got trapped on the incoming tides. Due to the impending new moon, we were able to make the most of a very low tide and enjoyed looking in the roc pools. The water was crystal clear and we saw a range of marine life going about their business! It was therefore really sad to see tiny particles of plastic floating around; they were tiny and impossible to remove. How devastating to see such a pristine environment blighted by plastic.

We are always interested in finding dates in litter; this can had a best before date of 2016

It is easy to get disheartened and very easy to decide there is little point to removing the plastic / litter we find, but i firmly believe that every piece we remove does make a difference.

stay safe x

Polkerris Before the Rain Arrived!

 We made a mad dash to Polkerris first thing, hoping to avoid the worst of the heavy rain due. What a difference a day makes! Freezing temperatures and clear skies yesterday and today warmer but grey and rainy! 

Very little large pieces of plastic to be found today; not unusual for Polkerris, where micro plastics tend to prevail.

On one of the banks, which appears to mainly sand based; a mass of plastics are tumbling out as the bank is eroding. This usually occurs when the tides are higher and/or storm conditions whip up the waves.

Picked up lots of micro plastics and lots of smaller items which are pretty complete.

Just as we were leaving, we found a red Lego daisy sitting on the sand - the beachs' way of saying thank you :)

Stay safe x

Sea Beans : Nickar Nuts

 I love finding sea beans; the journey they have been on is incredible. I am always fascinated with the stories they could tell. I was lucky enough to find a nickar nut when i was at Polkerris beach cleaning.

They are often referred to as 'Sea Pearls'

It is widely considered that the name 'Nicker', derives from the Dutch for Marble.

Nicker nuts originate from the West Indies, and wash up along Europe's coastlines following a storm.

Always keep a look out for sea beans - they are an amazing find and definitely a treasure

Stay safe x

You never can tell what you will find! Par, Cornwall

 This mornings walk and beach clean took us to Par beach. With the car registering the temperature at -5 degrees Celsius, we were glad to be wrapped up warm, and Woody after much wriggling to get away from his coat, was eventually glad to have it on!

Cold mornings have the most beautiful skies, and this morning was no exception! As we crunched our way over the sand, we were happy to be back on the beach.

One thing i enjoy about beach cleaning (apart from removing plastic from the marine environment) , is never knowing what you will find. Today was no exception; first of all we found a little playmobil person, they were guilty of burying their head in the sand....

Then we found... well i'm not 100% sure! It looks like part of a big rubber ducks face.... but maybe when we clean it up we will get a better idea of what it is!

And finally, Barbie (or similar doll) had lost a leg!

As the sun rose in the sky, it was beautiful. Woody certainly enjoyed feeling a little warmth after our very cold start.

Stay safe xx

Plastic Bottles and Bottle Lids

 If i recall correctly, i would say that i always see and pick up plastic bottles / lids when i am out beach cleaning. 

You can see in this photo how the large bottle has started to break down; all the shards are now micro plastics in the marine environment. The other bottle in the picture is the very top of the bottle with plastic lid intact.

The above photo are bottle lids collected in just one beach clean!

The photo below shows bottle lids in various stages of degradation.

All of these photos illustrate common beach finds and how they break down.

If you see a bottle or bottle lid, please pop it in the bin or your pocket and dispose of it responsibly.

Stay safe x