Pair of socks among odd finds in South Shields beach clean blitz
More than 200 Northumbrian Water volunteers rolled up their sleeves and spent around 1,000 hours cleaning up beaches through the company’s employee volunteering scheme, Just an Hour.
They were joined by teams from South Tyneside Council and South Tyneside Homes at the Littlehaven and Sandhaven beauty spots in South Shields
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Hide AdA dish scouring pad, a toothbrush and the biggest catch – a car tyre – were just some of the strange items collected from North East beaches, showing the level of mess on our shores, with a pair of socks found by one of the teams in South Shields.
The beach cleans took place over two weeks in support of World Oceans Day on Tuesday, 8 June, and The Great British Spring Clean.
Simon Cyhanko, head of wastewater networks at Northumbrian Water, said: “It’s really rewarding for us to give something back and help make a difference – and to do this in collaboration with some of our amazing partners.
“We can all do our bit to keep our beaches and bathing waters as pristine as we possibly can, and you can do that by putting rubbish in a bin or taking it home with you, and not using your toilet as a bin too.
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Hide Ad“Flushing items like wet wipes can cause pipes to block and the consequences can be devastating. Help protect the environment from being polluted by making one simple change - and that’s to ‘Bin the Wipe’.”
Councillor Ernest Gibson, lead member for Area Management and Community Safety at South Tyneside Council, said: “It was fantastic to support Northumbrian Water on this initiative.
“We pride ourselves on our stunning seafront and work extremely hard to keep our beaches clean and tidy while helping to prevent plastics and other items ending up in the sea. We also have some wonderful volunteer groups supporting the work we do.
“World Oceans Day gives us an opportunity to highlight the impact of litter on our coastal areas and the risk it poses not only to visitors but wildlife and marine life. It’s a chance to celebrate and help protect our shoreline and marine environment.”