The MCS Great British Beach Clean, run in partnership with Waitrose & Partners, was the biggest mass participation beach clean and survey event the UK has ever witnessed. The event, held over four days in September, involved just short of 15,000 volunteers – double the number in 2017.

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Disappointingly, the recent budget only included one potential measure for reducing plastic usage, despite the huge response to the recent call for evidence.

Lizzie Prior,
MCS Beach and River Cleans Project Officer
The amount of litter collected dropped by 16% compared to 2017, showing that community clean-ups and individual endeavours can make a dent in beach litter figures, but MCS stresses this masks a growing plastic litter trend