New initiative aims to keep north-east shores clean
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Visitors to north-east beaches are being encouraged to do their bit to keep the area's stunning sands in pristine condition.
Take 4 for the Shore is a new initiative jointly hosted by Turning the Plastic Tide, the marine litter campaign for East Grampian Coastal Partnership, and the National Nature Reserves at Forvie and St Cyrus.
Four additional beaches popular with visitors at Fraserburgh, Balmedie, Stonehaven and East Haven in Angus have been selected to be provided with special new beach clean kit boxes.
Each box contains items such as litter pickers, bin bags and safety gloves with the aim of encouraging locals and visitors to help keep beaches free of rubbish by collecting at least four items, doing so safely while using the correct equipment.
The initiative has been launched with the assistance of local businesses and volunteers who will help manage the beach boxes.
Business and charitable groups currently supporting the initiative are the Beach Café, Fraserburgh; the Sand Bothy, Balmedie; Molly’s Café, Stonehaven and the Heritage Centre (East Haven Together), East Haven.
The project has also been working closely with Aberdeenshire Council’s community waste officers to assist with the disposal of additional waste recovered from the marine environment.
Supporting the launch were Aberdeenshire councillors Brian Topping and Sarah Dickinson, together with Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment MSP Mairi Gougeon.
Councillor Brian Topping, chairman of Fraserburgh and District Community Safety Group, said: “I am always shocked and angered by the volume of discarded litter and other debris I witness on Fraserburgh’s beautiful sands.
“I know that this has been left by a minority of irresponsible people, but I would encourage the majority of those community-minded visitors to use the beach clean kit boxes to good effect and keep our shores in tip-top condition.”
Turning the Plastic Tide is encouraging anyone who plans to use the boxes let them know by sharing a photo via the project’s social media on Facebook @turningtheplastictie and Twitter @TurnPlasticTide
Project manager Crawford Paris said: “In recent months, the influx of local tourism has led to major littering problems across many coastal communities.
"We hope the initiative will have a significant impact on visitor behaviour and encourage greater local ownership of coastal areas.
“The initiative should also make life easier for organisers of future beach clean-ups, as each box comes with all the equipment, guidelines and risk assessments.
"With the assistance of local community waste officers, disposal is also simplified as dedicated bins are now in place specifically for marine debris.
"We hope that eventually this will make organising a beach clean more accessible to those interested in helping out.”
Turning the Plastic Tide is a marine litter campaign for East Grampian Coastal Partnership between Fraserburgh and East Haven, in Angus.
It aims to encourage greater participation in volunteer beach cleaning, while delivering schools education relating to marine plastic pollution.
The project is funded by North East of Scotland Fisheries Local Action Group (NESFLAG), the European Union’s European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and the Scottish Government, with additional sponsorship from Peterhead Port Authority, Vattenfall, Scottish Fisherman’s Trust, Aberdeen Fish Producer’s Organisation, Angus Council and Shell.
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