Shocking pictures reveal the 20kg of plastic that washed up on Jersey beaches in just one weekend
Pictures taken of three beaches in Jersey show the shocking extent of the problem of plastic pollution devastating the environment and harming wildlife
THESE shocking pictures show the scale of the plastic problem on British beaches after nearly 20kg of rubbish was collected by a couple - over just ONE weekend.
Environmentalists Tracy Vibert, 56, and her husband Malcolm, 60, have been clearing rubbish washed up onto shores for 25 years - and say the problem is the worse than ever.
During Saturday and Sunday they collected nearly 20kg of plastic from their three favourite beaches Ouaisne, St Ouen and Portelet on Jersey.
They have now published images of their sizeable haul.
In their most recent beach clean the couple found a consortium of plastic bottles, foam and even a baking tray.
They also cleared a blue plastic tennis racket and a CRT television from the beaches.
Mrs Vibert, a housewife from St Helier, Jersey, said: "The worse was since Storm Eleanor, we have noticed a lot more plastic.
"We see it on a weekly basis so we weren't shocked but we were disappointed.
"I'm disappointed because things don't seem to be getting better.
"We clean beaches, but we know the next tide is just going to bring more.
"It's a never ending battle and some times we think, 'why are we doing it?'
"But no one else will do it, it's disillusioning some times because it's a lasting battle.
"The army of beach cleaners is growing so it feels like we're helping, but unfortunately the world probably isn't.
"We tend to do the west of Jersey, we're not part of a beach clean group, we're two individuals and have been doing it for 25 years plus.
"Being an island in the English channel we get rubbish from every where, America, Spain, it depends on the tides.
"7kg is probably a small amount, the day before we picked up 11kg, some times we pick up 25-30kg."
Over the years the couple say they have collected countless one-use bottles, massive TVs and even industrial ACID containers.
They sort everything they find and reuse as much as possible, by giving discarded fishing equipment to local fishermen and sorting the recycling by hand.
Mrs Vibert added: "We bring it all home and sort out the recyclables, anything that can be recycled will be.
"The fishing gear we return to fishermen, we know some in the area."
For Tracy and her logistics manager husband Malcolm, beach cleaning is a life-long passion.
It began back in 1993, when the young couple would comb the beaches looking for interesting trinkets.
Tracy said: "It started off as beach combing, we used to go along the beach looking for anything interesting.
"We found messages in bottles, sea hearts which are a type of seed from Costa Rica, and we found lobster pots from Maine, New Hampshire.
"It was fun, but we realised how much rubbish there was and realised we had to do something about it.
"We just do it for nature, if you don't do it no one will."
After doing beach cleans on their own for so long, the couple have started to notice a change in people's attitudes.
"It's becoming popular to beach clean," Tracy continued. "I think that's down to David Attenborough.
"People are becoming aware and are doing their bit.
"Here on Jersey there's a revolution going on, people are avoiding plastics and companies are starting to avoid using plastic straws.
"That's a very good thing, I find too many plastic straws on the beach.
"Mal and I just do our own thing and do it every weekend, it's just something that we do."
Prime Minister Theresa May has said the UK is committed to eliminating all avoidable plastic waste by 2042 as part of the Government’s latest environmental plan for the next 25 years.
Under the pledge waste such as the carrier bags, food packaging and disposable plastic straws that litter the country and pollute the seas would be abolished.
Supermarkets will also be encouraged to establish ‘plastic free’ isles where produce is sold without packaging, as part of the drive.
Plastic passion – the extent of our addiction to plastic
The equivalent of a truck load of plastic waste enters the oceans every minute, according to environmental charity Greenpeace.
That means 12.7 million tonnes a year.
The problem affects every part of the globe with plastic waste even found in the Arctic ice.
The extent of the waste is not just one of spoiling beauty spots but has a huge impact on all sorts of wildlife.
Birds and animals like turtles get caught up and snared in large pieces while other animals swallow small pieces thinking it is food and choke.
In the UK alone, during its recent Great British Beach Clean Up, the Marine Conservation Society found 718 pieces of litter for every 100 metre stretch of beach surveyed, and of this, rubbish from food and drink made up at least one fifth.
Most of the household plastic waste in the UK originates in our big supermarkets.
The UK uses 35 million plastic bottles every day, and 16 million of these are not currently recycled.
Plastic bottles and bottle tops are consistently one of the largest sources of ocean plastic pollution found in global beach clean ups.
There’s been a 250% increase in the amount of plastic washing up on UK coastlines over the last 10 years.
91 per cent of people supported supermarket aisles free from plastic packaging and 81 per cent said they were concerned “about the amount of plastic packaging that is thrown away in the UK”.
*Source: Greenpeace
Mrs May said in January: “We look back in horror at some of the damage done to our environment in the past and wonder how anyone could have thought that, for example, dumping toxic chemicals, untreated, into rivers was ever the right thing to do.
“In years to come, I think people will be shocked at how today we allow so much plastic to be produced needlessly.
“In the UK alone, the amount of single-use plastic wasted every year would fill 1,000 Royal Albert Halls.”
Environmental groups while welcoming the move added the Government needed to do more and faster to save the environment.
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Senior Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace UK Louise Edge This announcement was billed as a major push to tackle our plastic problem, but it looks more like a missed opportunity.
“It's good that the Government wants to make tackling plastic waste a priority, but the specific measures announced today don't match the scale of the environmental crisis we face.
“Encouraging more water fountains, extending charges on plastic bags and funding for innovation can all be part of the solution, but the overall plastics plan lacks urgency, detail and bite.”
Friends of the Earth chief executive Craig Bennett said: “A 25 year plan is clearly needed – but with the nation facing an accelerating environmental crisis we can’t afford to wait a quarter of a century for urgent action to tackle the issues that already threaten our lives, health and planet.”
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