From Marine Conservation Society website

Plastic on Welsh beaches accounts for at least 73% of the total amount of litter found on UK beaches, according to the recently published Marine Conservation Society's (MCS) Beachwatch 2007 survey report. The national average of all plastic litter found on UK beaches is 58%, however the percentage of plastic debris in Wales is over 73%! In addition, the report shows that plastic litter on UK beaches has increased by a staggering 126% since the annual survey began in 1994.

Plastic accounted for 16 of the top 20 items found on Welsh beaches, with plastic bags, plastic drinks bottles and plastic–based cigarette butts amongst the top 20 items frequently encountered. Sadly, when compared to the UK average, Welsh beaches suffered the highest density of recreational and beach visitors' litter, the highest density of fishing and shipping litter of any UK country.

A total of 41,030 litter items were collected on 38 Welsh beaches over a total length of 15.45 km. It seems that Welsh beaches are suffering from a tide of plastic litter, which may never biodegrade and which appears to be increasing. Plastics are of particular concern as they could persist in the marine environment for centuries, with fatal consequences for marine wildlife.

In Carmarthenshire two beaches, at Cefn Sidan and Llanelli have been adopted under the MSC 'Adopt a Beach' scheme where a stretch of coast has been adopted and local people take part in annual or quarterly beach cleans and surveys to monitor litter throughout the year.

The full MCS Beachwatch 2007 results can be downloaded at www.adoptabeach.org.uk.

There are also 14 Coastcare groups in Carmarthenshire that have adopted beaches, undertaking practical clean–ups along the coast and to raise awareness of the issues of coastal littering. This is undertaken under the auspices of the Clean Coasts project, run by Keep Wales Tidy. The Project is also involved with schools and colleges where awareness raising activities take place and one–off clean ups arranged. For more information contact local officer Phil Davies at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it