A 50-year-old crisp packet was among more than 3,500 kilograms of litter collected during the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean this year.
Thousands of volunteers took part in the annual cleanup event, which covered 97 miles of beaches across the UK and Channel Islands.
Of the 232,229 pieces of litter removed from the environment, volunteers found a paddling pool, a gold wedding ring, and a preserved crab in a jar. “Our volunteers never know what they’ll uncover,” says Clare Trotman, Beachwatch Officer at the Marine Conservation Society.
Some of the rubbish had been polluting the environment for decades. These included a race number from a 2012 running event, a sweet wrapper from around the year 2000, a pot of McDonalds BBQ dip from the late 90s, a 1996 packet of Walkers crisps, and a packet of Golden Wonder crisps from the early 1970s.
“It’s both fascinating and deeply concerning to see how long our litter lasts,” says Catherine Gemmell, policy and advocacy manager at the Marine Conservation Society. “A crisp packet from the 1980s looks almost as fresh as if it had been dropped yesterday.”
The conservation charity is sharing photos of this 'retro rubbish' to remind people how long plastic pollution stays in the environment. “These finds are a time capsule of our throwaway culture and a clear reminder that single-use plastics don’t just disappear,” says Gemmell.
As well as picking up the rubbish, the volunteers submitted data on what they found. This information will help the Marine Conservation Society campaign for changes to protect British beaches.
Data from previous cleanups has influenced environmental policy changes, like the implementation of a charge for plastic bags in 2015, a ban on single-use plastic cotton buds in 2020 and the deposit return scheme for bottles and cans, which is due to start in 2027. “Every piece of data our volunteers collect helps us not only clear litter from the beach, but push for a cleaner, healthier ocean,” says Trotman.
Since the plastic bag charge came into effect, the number of plastic carrier bags found on UK beaches dropped by 80 percent.
Finding rubbish that has been around for decades is a stark reminder of the harm plastic pollution can do. Animals can die from eating or getting tangled in litter, and the plastic remains in the environment even when it breaks down into microplastics, says Trotman: “These items should never have lasted this long.”
Retro rubbish found on UK beaches
Top image: Fistral Beach in Newquay, Cornwall. Credit: Getty
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