I am thrilled to announce that I have been awarded a certificate as ‘Beach Picker of the Year’ by Litter Pickers of the New Forest, who presented me with a very good bottle of wine. The sea thanked my sons and three year-old helpers by presenting them with a jar of instant coffee and this ball.
The good thing about winter beach cleans is that, instead of picnic litter, you are in with a chance of finding interesting things washed up on the shore. Along with a Tescos’ ‘bag-for-life’, that we filled with pieces of rope, bottles and part of a lobster pot, I found an unopened can of larger, a decent ball and a pristine jar of Nescafe Gold, fully sealed although dated 19/5/19. It must have been floating about in the Solent for some time.
The storms tend to bring in a lot of old plastic. This fishermen’s litter (below) accumulated in the lee of the causeway, out of the wind, but in a nature reserve where otters can be found.
There was a lot to gather. I need to return for more.
PPE is getting everywhere. I’ve been stuffing the masks I find in a jar. I’ve also been picking up aged polystyrene, tampon applicators and tangled PVC rope.
I sometimes use a counter to record how many items I pick up. This purple bucketload (below) contained 140 items but can take more than 260, as many pieces of sea plastic are small. It usually ends up weighing between 3 and 4 Kgs.
How long will will it take for all this to disintegrate? It’s interesting to date elderly rubbish. Crisp packets can easily last 40 years.
These ones were only aged about 8, which was a bit disappointing.
Odd things turn up. This mallet was made with a groove along the top, which I understand is used by riggers. It looks as if it came from a fairground.
After the gales this November, I found an undamaged fluorescent light bulb washed up on the Solent. This is my third. I gather these contain mercury. Is it British? Has it been flung off a ship?
By contrast, this large lobster pot buoy obviously belongs to someone. It’s been registered as missing on Facebook but with no response.
The important thing is to keep going, collecting a little but regularly:
It’s then that your eye catches small pieces like fishing line – which we nearly missed –
This is one of three fishy lures collected recently.
It’s good to record just how much plastic pollution accumulates over time. I found about 3 Kgs of rope and micro plastics after scouring this remote beach that I had cleared a month before.
This pollution is being retrieved from ecologically sensitive areas within the New Forest National Park and British seas. Sadly, all this now has to go into landfill – apart from the ball and sealed jar of coffee. It was just what we needed at home.
To see some of the things we found beach cleaning in September, please click here
Sophie Neville 
Very well deserved too, Sophie, congratulations! Although it must be a bittersweet achievement.
I was given a delicious bottle of red wine, which I shared with the boys who helped me dig four 25 litre oil cans out of tidal mud.
Well done and thoroughly deserved. I am getting so tired of picking up disposable masks!
Thank you – we press on, come what may.
Indeed. Have a good Christmas.
The mallet is a ‘serving mallet’ which is used by riggers. It must have fallen overboard accidentally. https://collection.thedockyard.co.uk/objects/8909
Thanks! This one looks as if it was once brightly painted. I’ve put it in my shed.
Hey Sophie,
Thank you for everything you’ve done this year to help keep the litter down, you’re a an absolute star let’s hope 2021 is a better year.
Again Many Thanks
Kind regards
Stephen
Litter Pickers of the New Forest.
Thank you for the encouragement. Do share any of these blog posts I’ve been keeping. They act as a record and hopefully will help spread the word. For a pretty full list of the things I’ve found, click here: https://sophieneville.net/2019/03/19/things-i-find-on-a-beach-clean/
UK -Masks,gloves,chocolate bar wrappers,crisp packets,cigarette butts,pieces of plastic, plastic bags.
Plastic pallet,pieces of polypropylene fishing net;
Most bizarre -WC seat.
USA-Drink cans,plastic bottles,cigarette butts.
Caribbean -Plastic sandals/shoes,plastic bottles,
single use plastic cups,straws.Fast food litter.
Thanks for writing in! Very few of the items were ever essential – except perhaps the loo seat and masks.
Congratulations on your well deserved award. A pleasing end to a difficult and busy year, especially in terms of litter picking by the look of it. I do feel a bit sorry, however, for whoever lost a jar of coffee and a can of lager!
Thank you! We drank the coffee – but not the larger. And the boys enjoyed the ball.
The mind boggles at tampon applicators! But I suppose they are a product of sewage, or of being discarded by boats; neither of which is a very wholesome or savoury thought, and certainly doesn’t make your litter picking very pleasant!
Plastic ones should not be manufactured in the first place. It’s ridiculous!