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BEACH CLEAN VOLUNTEER GUIDE
Tides will have been checked but keep an eye on the water level anyway. You can check out tide times yourself at
www.visitmyharbour.com/.
Gloves – Always use them to pick up litter.
Watch your step on slippery rocks and mud flats.
Containers and drums – Don't touch them. Alert your organiser, they'll know what to do.
Heavy items – Get help if you need to lift something.
Warning! Syringes, needles and glass – Call your event organiser over to safely remove any glass, syringes or needles and put in a ‘sharps’ box or rigid container.
First aid kit – Your organiser may well have one but to be on the safe side pop some plasters and painkillers in your beach cleaning bag.
Under 16’s – To comply with insurance young volunteers must be accompanied by an adult who will be asked to sign a parental consent form by the organiser.
Coastguard – Can be contacted by calling 999.
WHAT’S WHAT?Beachwatch - our ongoing programme of beach clean events including:
The Great British Beach Clean - the MCS flagship Beachwatch event takes place every third weekend of September. The data we collect feeds into the International Coastal Cleanup. The Great British Beach Clean 2019 is sponsored by Ocado Foundation
On the day – Before you start litter picking your organiser will run through a check list to ensure your safety and enjoyment during the beach clean. This’ll include some health and safety information and a bit about doing the survey itself.
As a reminder you’ll receive an automatic email a couple of days before the beach clean with vital information like times and meeting points. Although you don’t need to contact your organiser, you can if you want to double check any details – their contact information will be on the website under the event you registered for.
You may want to buy yourself a really strong pair of gardening gloves – we suggest people use these to pick up litter and it’s nice to have your own, but not necessary. Pack a beach cleaning bag – including sun lotion, waterproofs, snacks and a drink in a reusable bottle – most surveys and cleans take between 1 and 2 hours.
© N
atasha Ewins
© N
atasha Ewins
Thanks for signing up to a beach clean event!
LEADING UP TO THE EVENT
KEEPING SAFE
SO WHAT'S NEXT? HERE'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
THE BEACH CLEAN AND SURVEYEquipment – You'll be given a clipboard and pen, litter picker or gloves, bin liner and volunteer survey sheet.
100m – You’ll be cleaning and recording litter along a 100m stretch of beach from the strandline (the line the tide last reached) to the back part of the beach. This is so we can standardise the data for all beaches cleaned. You can of course clean as much as you like afterwards – but it’s the 100m we actually survey. Your organiser will let you know where the survey area is.
Team work – It’s best to work in teams and three is an ideal number - one to pick up, one to hold the bag and one to record everything that’s found.
Schools and groups – You’re responsible for your group during the survey - arrange them into teams; make sure each team has the right equipment; keep them in the survey area; make sure they add up the columns on the survey sheet, and the weight and number of bags collected on the survey form. Remind them to take the bags to the designated drop point and return equipment to organiser at the end.
Record and bag everything – Every item of litter within the survey area must be picked up, recorded and bagged.
Not sure? – If you can’t identify an item ask your organiser who has an ID guide.
Tally ho! – Record items on the sheet using a tally system ( I I I I ). Then at the end of the survey, add up the total amount and enter as a number in the column next to the litter item.
If it's natural – Items like seaweed, wood (with no paint or nails) can be left where they are as they’re important habitats for wildlife such as seabirds.
Name and shame – Make a note of litter from foreign countries or that is branded.
Quirky – Make a note of any unusual items you find on the back of the survey sheet and if you can, take a photo on your phone and email to [email protected] with details of where and when you found them – we may use your pic in our report!
Wildlife – Note any dead, entangled or stranded animals and let your organiser know – also take a photo on your phone if you can and email to [email protected].
Sticky – Make a note on the back of the sheet if you see oil or tar.
Nurdles – You may spot these. They’re nurdles – the building blocks of pretty much anything plastic. Make a note if you find them under ‘small plastic pieces’, let your organiser know and bag them.
Weigh-in – If your organiser has weighing scales, weigh your bags and add the weight figure to your survey sheet.
Bags – Your organiser will tell you where to take your full rubbish bags at the end of the event.
Then hand your survey sheets to your organiser and enjoy the rest of your time on the beach!
SO WHAT HAPPENS TO THE INFORMATION? Your organiser uploads all the survey sheets to our national database and MCS uses the results to:
- Produce an annual report.
- Raise awareness of the impacts of litter.
- Create campaigns to reduce litter at source.
- Share the data with other organisations and academics working on marine litter issues.
© Calum
Duncan
WHAT CAN YOU DO?Sign up for your next event!
We run events all year round as well as over our flagship weekend event in September The Great British Beach Clean www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/events
At home - Re-use, reduce and re-cycle
- Take re-useable shopping bags with you when you go to the shops
- Only put the 3 P’s down the loo – Poo, Pee and Paper
- Take on the Plastic Challenge! Sign up at
- Follow MCS on Twitter and Facebook @mcsuk to keep up-to-date with our litter campaigns.
...for supporting the Marine Conservation Society By doing so you’re making a huge difference to
our beaches and seas, making them safer places for wildlife and for people.
Marine Conservation Society, Overross House, Ross Park, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 7UST 01989 566017 E [email protected] W www.mcsuk.org facebook.com/mcsuk twitter.com/mcsuk
Registered Charity No (England and Wales): 1004005. Registered Charity No (Scotland): SC037480. Company Limited by Guarantee No: 2550966. Registered in England VAT No: 321 4912 32
The Marine Conservation Society’s sustainable seafood and beach litter work is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Thank you
More information at www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch Email: [email protected]
or call 01989 567807
www.mcsuk.org/plasticchallenge
