Chris Williams and his partner Lara started beach cleaning along the Hastings and St Leonards coastline in 2019 to help tackle the issue of marine pollution.
Chris said, “We started doing this initially and predominately for the marine life. I am fanatical about all fish and underwater life.
“Both of us are animal lovers, and the media coverage globally made us both sad. We wanted to do what we could for the animals and the environment too.”
Covering the same patch on the coastline, from Goat Ledge cafe to just past the Azur restaurant, the pair share pictures on their new website of the pollution they find.
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Chris added, “We don’t have a worldwide point of reference but to highlight the plight, we reached 60,000 items of litter last week - in just 3 years! Predominantly the litter we find is cellophane and food packaging. Then things like cigarette packs, drink carton straws, sugar sachets and sweet wrappers. Anyone who wants to help, just ensure you put rubbish in the bin properly as seagulls are pesky and clever birds at times,
“If you want to be pro-active, grab a bag and pick up what you can when at the beach, or at least bin anything you might spot.”
The couple are hoping to spread the word that ordinary people are able to make a difference to keep coastlines clean.
They have shared a video demonstrating the extent of the problem, showing the consistent amount of litter they collected over a year.
“We get out once a week, all year round, whatever the weather. Lara is a shift working NHS frontline keyworker so its random but we find a day in each week. We do have a crowdfunder at the moment, as well as option to ‘buy us a coffee’ on the website, to help cover costs of the site, equipment and to hopefully allow us to cover more of the coastline in the future. Every piece of rubbish off the beach is better for the planet, the sealife, the oceans, the dogs and all of us worldwide so we can enjoy clean beaches and inter-connected oceans.”
To find out more or donate to Chris and Lara’s crowdfunder, please click here.
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Chris Williams, and his partner Lara, started beach cleaning along the Hastings and St Leonards coastline in 2019 to help tackle the issue of marine pollution. SUS-220103-124826001
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Chris and Lara have been diligently cleaning the same 600 metre of coastline for the past three years. SUS-220103-124815001
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The couple document on their new website some of the litter they find. SUS-220103-130631001
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The pictures demonstrate how polluted our beaches are. SUS-220103-130651001