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ONE million pounds are spent to dispose of litter from beaches in the BCP Council area.
The figure was revealed during the release of a new report on local authorities’ sustainable approach to reducing plastic on the beach.
The first of its kind, the report was commissioned by the BCP Council as part of an investment in the waterfront.
It was undertaken by the environmental nonprofit City to Sea and sets ambitious plans for the council to reduce single-use plastic on our beaches.
Holding more blue flags than any other UK local authority, the BCP Council currently spends £ 1million a year removing litter from its beaches.
City to Sea works with organizations to run behavior change campaigns highlighting how small actions can make a big difference.
They estimate that if just one in 10 residents of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole filled a water bottle just once a week, more than a million plastic bottles a year would be saved.
The report’s proposals focus on the new £ 2.4million Durley Environmental Innovation Center, funded by the Coastal Communities Fund, and options for further leveraging cutting-edge environmental benchmarks and Passivhaus design.
They seek to deliver:
• a flourishing, income-generating and accessible place that models behaviors and systems that respect the environment
• a new learning space dedicated to residents and visitors to promote behavior change, connect people’s actions to the oceans and build environmental protection
• a showcase for the development of the BCP Council as a low impact destination, where filling and reuse replace single use
• a new catering kiosk, experimenting with innovative working methods
• Seaside School – an educational resource for schools and families.
City Councilor Mohan Iyengar, Tourism and Active Health Portfolio Holder: “Coastal councils like us are constantly working to remove litter and take care of our beaches.
“The single-use, disposable model means it’s increasingly difficult for people to make environmentally friendly choices.
“By working with experts in their field, we aim to develop our understanding of solutions. We need to design reuse in our beach operations using practical solutions that can be delivered both operationally and commercially.
“This City to Sea report will expand our understanding and bring the Durley Innovation Center to life as an educational space for residents and visitors.
“Preventing single-use plastic in the first place rather than collecting it from our beaches is a strategy underpinned by our ‘Cleaner, Greener, Safer’ initiative.
