MORE than 300 bags of rubbish were collected from Dorset beaches in an annual spring clean.

And there’s evidence the event is having a real impact, as volunteers picked up 470 fewer bags than last year.

The Great Dorset Beach Clean is now in its 28th year and organisers have spoken out to thank landowners, charities, organisations and – most importantly – volunteers, who make the event possible.

More than 425 volunteers targeted 22 beaches this year, from Christchurch to Lyme Regis, collecting 330 bags of rubbish.

The clean-up was co-ordinated by the Litter Free Coast and Sea Project, part of the Dorset Coast Forum.

Matilda Manley, project co-ordinator said: “Beach cleans are an important way for us to understand what rubbish is being found on which beaches. In turn, this helps us to work out how we can help stop more getting out there in the future- after all, if we don’t reduce the amount going into the sea, these clean ups will go on forever.”

She added: “It is very encouraging to see that there was a lot less litter collected this year than last. Lots of factors can affect this including recent weather. We also now have 19 two minute beach clean stations and several community beach clean groups along the coast so beach cleans are happening more regularly throughout the year. 
However, we hope that less litter collected this year does indicates that less litter is being dropped along the coast. Huge thanks to everyone involved.”

Some volunteers recorded what was picked up during the cleans and found that plastic bottles, fishing line and cigarette butts were among the most common things found. A number of the beach cleans also found nails from burnt wood and pallets left on the beaches. 

Project Officer Charlie Wild said: “It’s so easy to stop these kinds of things becoming litter on our beaches; bring a reusable bottle and refill it at one of the 60+ Refill Dorset stations. Use the bins provided or take your litter home, invest in a stubby pack to take your cigarette butts off the beach and dispose of. Every little action adds up to make a big difference together, and it really doesn’t take much time or effort to do your bit.”