A Weymouth woman carried more than 23kg of rubbish a mile and a half in a bid to clean up our coastline.
On Tuesday, 21-year-old Kathryn Bland single-handedly removed 23.5kg of rubbish from a small stretch of beach close to Osmington.
Kathryn is a marine conservationist who has made it her mission to fight, prevent and raise awareness of the "toxic destruction and fatal impact that plastic pollution has on the marine ecosystem and landscape."
In 2016 she founded the campaign, Plastic Pollution Solution campaign and over the last two years dedicated her time to conducting beach cleans around Dorset.
Her latest clean was at a remote beach just below PGL Osmington Bay.
"There was litter everywhere," Kathryn said. "I would put it up there with one of my worst beach cleans yet."
She added although the beach was very remote, a long shore drift meant a lot of the litter found there had been washed over from Weymouth.
"I have picked up a deck chair, 92 plastic bottles and two bags of other litter, which is immensely heavy," Kathryn said.
In total Kathryn collected more than 23.5kg of rubbish from the small area of beach which she then carried a mile and a half off the beach so it could be disposed of responsibly.
"Hiking 23kg back a mile and a half left me feeling broken. My back is sore and my hips, knees and ankles ache. I had to give myself such a pep talk to hike this back. Every seagull that soared passed or cormorant perched on the boulders kept me going," she said.
It took her four hours in total to clear the rubbish.
She will now sort the litter and anything that can be recycled will be.
Since starting the campaign, Kathryn has cleared more than six tonnes of plastic waste which has either been washed up by the tide, or left by its visitors.
To find out more about the campaign search Plastic Pollution Solution on Facebook or visit wildapparelshop.com.
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