Exeter playing an important part in keeping SW beaches plastic free

Exeter is playing a very important part in keeping the oceans and beaches in the south west clear of plastic.

Discarded plastic collected from our coastline is being sent to Exeter City Council’s Materials Reclamation Facility, where it is being sorted, batched up and sent for recycling.

The partnership with Keep Britain Tidys’ BeachCare programme and Fathoms Free not only helps rid the sea and beaches of unwanted and damaging materials but also helps keep council tax bills down by raising much needed revenue from the sale of recycled plastic.

Cllr Stephen Brimble, Lead Councillor for Place, said: “Working with BeachCare is a win-win situation for everybody. I’m delighted that Exeter is playing its part in cleaning up Devon and Cornwall’s beaches and the waters around our beautiful coastline. It’s a great initiative to be involved in.”

BeachCare empowers volunteers, including kayakers and divers, to collect plastic from the sea and beaches. Not only do they find fish netting, trays and buckets from trawlers but also plastic bottles and other discarded items from people using the beaches. Items being found come from as far as The Netherlands and Ireland as well as parts of the South West.

The recycling programme is taking recycling a stage further with Fathoms Free, a Cornish diving organisation, using the marine plastics to create Kayaks that volunteers can then use to paddle in Rivers and Coves to collect more discarded plastic.

Neil Hembrow, BeachCare manager said: “For many years we have been looking for a solution for the marine waste we collect on our beach cleans. We believe these are important steps and hope this innovative programme will empower volunteer beach cleans in the South West.”