Local volunteers joined forces to rid Shakespeare Beach of marine litter on the 16th September with resounding success. Community groups including Scouts, Brownies, staff from the Port and local families from Dover joined the event organised by The White Cliffs Countryside Partnership and funded by Dover Harbour Board, to record the debris for the Marine Conservation Society's (MCS) Beachwatch Big Weekend.
A few hours on the beach saw 6,463 pieces of litter collected weighing a total of 267kgs contained in 68 bin bags.
Vicki Case, Environmental Manager, Port of Dover said: "I'm sure all the volunteers found it really satisfying to give the beach a deep clean and we had fun doing it too. To encourage a bit of friendly competition we handed out prizes for the 'most enthusiastic' litter collector, the 'furthest travelled' and the 'most litter collected' award. Volunteers Brody Ayles and Luke Biles shared the prize for the most unusual piece of litter found - a sparkly flip-flop and an axle grinder! It was great to see the community come together to make a difference and a big thank-you to the beach-hut owners who really got stuck-in to the clean-up."
Paul Sampson, Partnership Officer for White Cliffs Countryside Partnership expressed his delight at the successful event: "I was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the volunteers in giving up their free time to help clear the marine litter from this beautiful beach. It was great to see an increase in the number of attendees and well done to the Scouts and Brownies for helping out for the second year running. We're already planning next year's event with the welcome addition of a local dive team collecting litter from the sea bed. A big thank-you to all who supported the event and helped make the day a great success."
