Marine litter is a serious and complex problem that impacts the coastline in every country. It is pervasive, difficult to control, and requires a mix of education and enforcement approaches. Once in the marine environment, plastics directly impact marine mammals, birds, fish and coastal systems; impact marine activities such as fishing, tourism and recreation; and reduce the beauty of the coastal environment for all. Insidiously, marine plastics do not biodegrade, they slowly break up into '
micro-plastics' which move through the marine ecosystem for hundreds of years and eventually enter the food chain. Importantly, marine and coastal litter requires a sense of awareness of the scale of the problem matched with a sense of local ownership and empowerment. Since a considerable amount of litter enters the marine environment from the land, action from communities is a critical element of solving the problem.
Ganavan Sands is a local public coastal space combined with a beachfront residential development situated in Oban in the UK. The area is a part of the scenic and beautiful Highlands and Islands region of the West Coast of Scotland.The signage for Ganavan Sands clearly states the selling point of the development as '
inspired by...natural perfection', and is located in an area of important coastal habitat. The local waters are home to basking sharks, dolphins, common and grey seals, a variety of seabirds and inshore habitats. Unfortunately, the 'natural perfection' slogan appears to only extend to the devleopment's sales pitch, in actual fact, the reality is quite different.
The following unsavory pictures were taken on a recent visit to visit to Ganavan. A considerable amount of the source of the rubbish was from the building site adjacent to the beach. Many plastic items used in residential construction have found there way to the beach due to poor and substandard waste management practices by the construction group. These items will be washed out in the tides to affect marine life, marine users, and significantly impact local amenity.
Not quite the '
panoramic sea views, beautiful sandy beaches, and breathtaking landscapes' as highlighted in the welcome on the developer's website
Ganavan Sands. In fact, pretty much the opposite. Fortunately, the local authority, Argyll and Bute Council have left their details on the sign in the public car park, and Sustainable Seas will be making further inquires to make sure the beach is cleaned up and the polluter pays principal is applied in the context of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. At a minimum Sustainable Seas calls for the implementation and enforcement of a Litter Control Area under the Act. If you want to know more about how to act on litter,
Keep Scotland Beautiful publish a great leaflet:
Litter and the Law in Scotland. Also, we encourage you to make contact with the local authority and the developer directly and express your views. Marine litter is everyone's problem.
We'll be keeping a close eye on the situation and will report progress on this blog.
Natural perfection?? I don't think so.
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