![](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/0c7e0ede-a269-4081-b127-d9b08738e194.jpeg?w=1024)
This winter we took it upon ourselves as a family to dig these abandoned buoy anchors out of the mud.
![](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/947e6662-569c-46a4-89fe-3f1fc47e98db.jpeg?w=1024)
We extracted four, all of which were so heavy it was near impossible to carry them away. There has been less litter but the storms bring in all sorts of things.
![](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/0eb137c4-4aaf-43a2-8e0b-7aeede04c9c5.jpeg?w=1024)
Plastic pollution has been unremitting but it is good to be making a contribution. It is such a beautiful area, so important to wildlife.
Some of the items are dangerous.
Others have travelled a long way, possibly dropped off ships.
![](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/4cf43255-a00f-4b3c-8d7f-fe2c2a02a2a8-e1609092063865.jpeg?w=1024)
Most pieces are small, some tiny, others revolting. It is satisfying to go out after a storm.
![](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/40023c48-5ff0-4856-b5da-7dde8594badd-e1608632964608.jpeg)
It is then that a lot of PVC rope comes in. It can do a great deal of damage.
![](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/6b1b8a36-b40b-4e0c-9558-3bb66ffcd46e.jpeg?w=1024)
I use a bucket as bags flap in the wind and there are often sharp pieces of glass.
![Plastic pollution collected from Solent shores Dec 2020 - photo Sophie Neville](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/0fa86240-dfdc-469b-919d-1cdeb3596af1-e1608632759147.jpeg?w=1024)
They can weigh 4kgs when full. This one contained a lot of old fishing line.
![](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/aa4c8adf-62fb-4e9b-9c74-5348ba04e722.jpeg?w=1024)
I often find unopened drinks or packets of food.
![](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/3175ef05-b3ac-4980-afcf-c1f4572185aa-1-e1608633400649.jpeg)
Almost every day there is a helium ballon and a mask to pick up or extract.
![](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/c88fb9c1-dd28-4d45-8073-87d3a70904d3.jpeg?w=1024)
It’s as if the sea is spitting them out.
![](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/e70891f4-e93f-408d-b007-adf2d44485a0.jpeg?w=1024)
We sometimes come across amusing pieces, often toys or balls of some kind.
![](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/48c5ffd3-778b-4bf0-acfd-57ef22bf02bd.jpeg?w=1024)
The best thing about collecting plastic pollution is that it gets us out there.
![](https://sophieneville.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/59acadb1-0998-4805-95cd-0aee36518550.jpeg?w=1024)
For a full list of things we’ve found washed up on the Solent – click here