Wet wipe litter on UK beaches up by 50 per cent

27th of March 2015
Wet wipe litter on UK beaches up by 50 per cent

The number of used wet wipes littering UK beaches has increased by 50 per cent in the last year, according to the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

This is because many people put them down the toilet instead of in the bin it said. Wipes do not easily disintegrate and sewerage systems are not able to process them.

They can block sewers, and when they are washed into the sea they can end up on beaches.

An average of 35 wet wipes were found for every kilometre of beach cleaned in 2014, up from 23 per kilometre the previous year.

General rubbish on UK coasts rose by 6.4 per cent from 2013 to 2014, the survey reported. Beaches in Wales had the highest litter levels, followed by those in England, while rubbish on coastlines in Scotland and Northern Ireland fell.

The report - published as part of the MCS's annual Great British Beach Clean - was based on litter found by more than 5,000 volunteers on 301 UK beaches, from 19 to 22 September last year.

 

 

 

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