Why do People Drop Litter on the Beach?

On Saturday 29 October, 40 volunteers of all nationalities and ages gathered in Golfe Juan to pick up litter on the beach. We collected a massive 35kg of glass bottles, and 18kg of other recyclables, a fishing rod, a ‘for sale’ sign, two broken chairs and a hypodermic needle.

We were all shocked by the number of cigarette butts and bottle caps lying around, all incredibly dangerous for beach-goers as well as the environment.

Laura Beard of Mission Ocean, who organized the event, said, "People are incredible sometimes, throwing all manner of things into the sea, stuffing crisp packets and plastic bottles in between rocks, and littering beautiful beaches with cigarette butts and beer bottles."

"We were shocked to find so much rubbish in just two hours, on just one beach, but we were very proud of our volunteers, and hope that we can encourage others to do the same." said Laura.

One of the volunteers, Aidan, a carpenter on an 82m yacht said, "Yachting is by nature a wasteful industry, which is why it's important to participate in projects like this whenever possible. Giving up a couple of hours to support a local cause is simple, and can make such a difference."

Henrique Agostinho and Laura Beard of Mission Ocean

We’d like to say a huge thank you to all those who took part, and to our partners who helped to organize this event:

Satoriz - Le Bio Pour Tous who provided the picnic, Aicers Control who donated gloves and rakes, CPIE des Iles de Lérins et Pays d'Azur for the educational materials, the town of Vallauris-Golfe Juan, FriendSea World, POLLUTION - J’ai dit NON.

See you very soon for our next beach clean in Villeneuve Loubet in a couple of weeks (details to follow).

More information can be found on Mission Ocean's Facebook page or via #oceaninitiatives #surfrider06