Pick Up Three Pieces: January 2013

If you wonder about the effect you are having as you remove only a few pieces of marine litter at a time from the coastline, why not adopt a beach, or even a section of a beach. It might be one you go to regularly anyway. I regularly visit a beach which has no litter bins at all, so unless folk are going there with the purpose of picking it up and taking a bag or container, its unlikely that they will pick it up on impulse. The winter storms continue, but I can see the difference my efforts in one area have made in January alone.

Its hard to prioritise and measure the amount of marine litter you pick up. Measuring by weight or volume doesn't account for all the smaller and potentially more deadly pieces that weigh very little.
I prioritise picking up things that are likely to blow off the land or back out to sea - plastic bags and balloons, plastic bottles, as well as shiny scraps of wrappers. Anything that could pose a risk of entaglement like net and ropes, or anything with a closed loop or ring.

Some marine litter is just too remote to carry out like this collection on the shore near Billia Croo.

About PU3P

Pick Up Three Pieces was started and continues to be lead by Orkney school children who want to take responsibility for removing some of the litter that is building up on their local beaches. They are finding out it that it is a global problem seriously affecting animals. It entangles them or is mistaken for food by them. Plastic bags look like jellyfish to a turtle and marine mammals and birds are often entangled in floating debris.

We hope this blog will inspire all of our schools and our whole community to take an active part in this initiative. Guest posts from schools, community groups, recreational groups and clubs, and individuals with an interest in the marine environment, are welcome.

Adopt a beach.

Winter Storms