Beach cleaning stations are available at three seafront locations across the district
Dover District Council (DDC) and local seafront business are supporting a new community beach clean initiative to help rid the district’s beaches of plastic and other litter as part of the Great British Spring Clean (28 May – 13 June 2021).
Plastic waste is having a devastating impact on marine life and is also a blight on some of the most popular seafront locations. According to National Geographic, 90% of our seabirds eat plastic rubbish, mistaking it for food while much of our unwanted plastic ends up in the ocean – around 8 million tonnes of it every year – and because plastic takes 400 years to break down, it stays there for a very long time.
The two-minute beach clean is spearheaded by The 2 Minute Foundation, a registered charity devoted to cleaning up the planet 2 minutes at a time with simple, achievable acts that can add up to make a great difference.
It is hoped that residents will take part by litter picking as part of their visit to the beach.
To help them, residents can borrow a beach clean kit from three local seafront businesses across the district who have kindly agreed to act as guardians of a series of beach clean stations. They are:
- The Sea Café, Walmer
- Pebbles, Dover
- The Coastguard, St Margaret’s Bay
Once some litter has been collected, residents can empty the contents of the bag into a nearby litter bin before returning the litter pick and bag back to the litter station.
The Council has purchased an additional two stations and is currently engaging with seafront businesses to act as guardians for these.
It is hoped that the new scheme will encourage families to have some fun whilst helping their environment and will also contribute to keeping our beaches litter-free. By keeping the litter picking time short and focused, more people can join in and support this valuable cause.
There will be a checklist to keep residents safe while taking part. There are some things that will need to be left to our contractors to clear safely, such as dog mess, broken glass and syringes as well as any larger items. Covid guidelines will be followed, with hand sanitiser and disposal gloves available if needed.
‘Residents taking part are being encouraged to ‘snap it and tag it’ sharing their litter pick pics on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #2minutebeachclean.
Cllr Nick Kenton, Dover District Council Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services, said: “We are pleased to support the 2-minute beach clean for three of our district’s beaches. The combined small efforts of many will make a big impact on our community’s efforts to keep the district’s beaches clean. We sincerely thank the businesses that are supporting us and encourage our residents to take part, especially young families, as we show our children that looking after the environment now will pay dividends in the future”.
Posted on 11 June 2021