Volunteers clear beach litter
A POPULAR Cornish beach has been cleared of an incredible 54 large bin-bags full of rubbish – by a school surfing group and its friends.
More than 50 people turned up throughout the day on Saturday to clean up Tregantle Beach, at Whitsand Bay.
The session was organised by Tavistock College Surf Academy, run by Dan Kinsman and Design Technology teacher Peter Keegan.
Peter said: "It was horrendous; there was so much plastic on the shoreline, things like bottle tops which would stay in the sea for hundreds of years.
"Much of it was marine debris, and there were even syringes, but we left it perfect."
The bags of rubbish were carried by the volunteers up to the nearby Tregantle Fort barracks, which arranged for the trash to be taken away by Cornwall County Council.
The beach-clean is an annual initiative by the Surf Academy, which is linked to the reward scheme at the school. The 20-strong team will be taking 10 students on a surfing holiday to Brittany during the Easter holidays.
5 Comments
by Terry, Par
Monday, February 08 2010, 9:11PM
“message to Dave Joslin. They already do come down to Par and watch them graft in their yellow overalls very entertaining.”
by TimV, Pz
Monday, February 08 2010, 7:40PM
“Please note, this was just ONE beach but it is representative of countless beaches round the world, including the most remote and unspoiled. We are being buried in a sea of plastic. Think about it - this is the first time this has happened in the earth's history. It is a new and man made phenomenum with serious consequences for nature. Isn't it about time we changed our ways?”
by Dave Joslin, St Austell
Monday, February 08 2010, 3:45PM
“Hats off to the volunteers but it should not be like this. Why not get some of the useless yobs on ASBOs to do something useful for the first time in their lives? Anyone caught dropping litter should be made to clear up litter in their own time unpaid. Maybe there would be less litter if this were adopted.”
by Tom Hill, St Just in Penwith
Monday, February 08 2010, 1:07PM
“We could do with more groups who are willing to improve the amenities they use. We take from our environment, put something back folks”
by Hannah, Penzance
Monday, February 08 2010, 11:09AM
“Hats off to them. It's great to see youngsters, who are often vilified by the rest of society, being so proactive.
The depressing thing though is that so much more will come in on the next tide.”