• News & Events
• Uncategorized

Love Your Beach on Lock Down!

There are many of us out there who care a great deal about the environment and want to do everything we can to protect it. It’s why we have so many amazing and dedicated volunteers who go out come rain or shine to keep our beaches clean and safe. We can’t get down to the beach at the moment to do litter picks, but the good news is there are lots of things we can do while at home that can keep our oceans and beaches clean and protect wildlife! Here are our top tips on how to love your beach while on lock down!

Only Flush the 3 P’s!

One really simple way to protect the ocean and wildlife is to stop using our toilets as a bin and to only flush the 3 P’s – Pee, Poo and Paper! Even though it might be hard to get hold of toilet rolls at the moment, alternatives like kitchen roll and wet wipes do not break down in the sewage system and can cause blockages and the dreaded fatbergs.

Wipe Out Ocean Plastic

Our new campaign WOOP! (Wipe Out Ocean Plastic) highlights the environmental impact of flushing some of the most commonly flushed items – wet wipes and period care products. Many people don’t realise that most of these products contain plastic and can cause blockages costing millions to repair and can also end up in the sea, causing harm to the environment and wildlife.

We recommend ditching single use products in favour of reusable items such as menstrual cups, period pants and reusable make up pads. These are not only better for the planet, but they will also save you lots of money too. Another option is to opt for plastic-free, biodegradable period care products like TOTM (who deliver to your door in time for your cycle every month) and Natracare.

To make this easier, we have teamed up with TOTM to offer a discount by using following codes:

–              TOTMWOOP30 (30% off first subscription order, valid on organic range)
–              TOTMWOOPCUP (15% off TOTM menstrual cup via www.totm.com)

Only rain down the drain!

Only rain should go down our drains, so if you are doing a bit of car maintenance or DIY, please make sure you don’t pour any paint, chemicals or oils down street drains. The same goes for our indoor drains – reducing the amount of chemicals that go down the drain helps to protect our oceans. You can go a step further and opt for eco cleaning products such as Ecover, or even make your own!

Guppyfriend laundry pouches ensure that even micro plastics don’t enter our water system!

Another really simple tip is to prevent fats, oils and greases going down the sink. Simply allow the grease to cool and either scrape it or wipe it off with some kitchen roll and then dispose of it in the bin. This stops the greases congealing in the sewer system and combining with items like wet wipes to form fatbergs, which can lead to floods and overflows (which is how items flushed down the loo end up in the sea), and cost millions every year to clear away.

Make Eco Bricks

Many of us are ordering food and other products online and the use of plastics seems to be shooting up! Please recycle your plastics and dispose of, or reuse, those you can’t. Another great option is to make Eco Bricks with your non-recyclable plastic. These are plastic bottles stuffed with plastic that are then used to create building blocks that can be used to create all sorts of things from furniture to play parks!

Also, always remember your tote bags when going out shopping!

Grow your own food

Most of us don’t have access to an allotment and many of us don’t even have any outdoor space. But did you know you can grow your own food from kitchen scraps? Here are a few ideas but with a bit of internet research you will be able to find many more!

Another great idea is to get involved in an organic veg box scheme. Better for the planet and supporting local producers, veg boxes come in all shapes and sizes and provide regular deliveries of veg to your door. This is perfect while on lock down!

Save Water

Now that we are all washing our hands all the time, we are using a lot more water. Why not put a bowl under the sink to capture it and use it to water your plants? And when it comes to flushing the loo, adopt the mantra ‘if it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down’!

And when it comes to boiling the kettle, make sure you only use as much water as you need.

Switch to a green energy supplier

Climate change is not going away, even if we are all preoccupied with Coronavirus. Now that we are all spending more time at home and using more energy, it is the perfect time to consider switching to a green energy supplier so that our carbon footprint is dramatically reduced.

Remember to turn off all appliances you aren’t using or before you go to bed!

Simple Switches

Now that you have a bit of time on your hands, why not take a look around your house – what simple switches could you make to remove plastic or help the environment? There are wooden toothbrushes, beeswax wraps, coconut husk scourers, plastic-free products like deodorant, shampoo and toothpaste – the list is endless!

Waste Less, Live More

By taking simple steps like planning out meals, saving left overs and making meals from scraps or food on the turn, we can prevent more food from going to landfill, we waste less and spend less too. Is there a banana looking a bit brown? Turn it into a banana bread! Got some fruit or veg looking a bit worse for wear? As long as it isn’t mouldy or going off, these can be blitzed into a smoothie or soup. Always put unusable scraps in the food recycling if you have it.

 

Another successful year on the Fylde Coast

Ready for some positive news? Take a look at what LOVEmyBEACH has achieved on the Fylde Coast in the last 12 months… All in the name of cleaner and safer beaches and seas!

 

It’s been another great year involving more interest in beach cleans than ever before, award winning volunteers, plastic reduction campaigns and strong relationships with communities, councils, schools and businesses! Take a look at our end of year report to find out more…

Here’s a snapshot of our achievements:

• 380+ beach clean events on the Fylde Coast – our first year reaching over one a day!
• 900+ new volunteers attending beach cleans (not including our monthly army of 200+ regulars)
• 50+ corporate groups took part in a beach clean
• 12,200+ volunteer hours given to cleaning beaches, saving the councils over £105,000
• 9,100+ bags of litter removed from beaches and estuaries
• 900+ school and college students took part in a beach clean, assembly or classroom session
• 1600+ individual people received our LOVEmyBEACH messages at our events

Please take 5 minutes to read about more of our achievements from 2019/20 in the report below (just click the link):

Fylde BeachCare End of Year Report 2019-20

We’d like to thank all our volunteers, partners and supporters for their hard work over the last 12 months as without you LOVEmyBEACH would not create even half the impact!

Let’s Wipe Out Ocean Plastic! WOOP!

We can all do our bit for the environment, even if we are on lock down and that is why LOVEmyBEACH is launching a new campaign to Wipe Out Ocean Plastic – or WOOP!

Aimed at young people, and young women in particular, the campaign seeks to raise awareness of the fact that many of the products they most commonly use such as wet wipes and period care products contain plastic and when disposed of incorrectly can end up in our oceans, on our beaches and harm wildlife. 

Around 11 billion wet wipes are used in the UK each year and are the cause of 80 per cent of sewer blockages, costing £100 million a year. In addition, 1.5 billion period care products are flushed every year in the UK. Sadly, plastic waste kills around one million seabirds and 100,000 mammals every year.

Zephie Begolo, LOVEmyBEACH campaign manager said: “The vast majority of wet wipes and period care products are made of plastic that don’t break down in sewers. This can harm the environment in two ways: firstly, by causing sewer blockages and ‘fatbergs’ which can lead to sewer systems being overwhelmed and overflowing during times of increased rainfall, which can also lead to floods. And secondly, if they end up on beaches and in the ocean, they can cause serious harm to the environment and to wildlife.

“The good news is that we can all play a big part in protecting our oceans and wildlife by making some simple changes in our day-to-day lives.”

The WOOP! (Wipe Out Ocean Plastic) campaign encourages people to only throw single use items containing plastic in the bin and to never flush them down the loo. LOVEmyBEACH is also encouraging young women to look for alternatives on the market that won’t do as much damage to the environment, such as menstrual cups, ‘fine to flush’ wet wipes and period products that do not contain plastic.

“People might be wondering what they can do to help the environment while they are on lock down and spending a lot of time at home. In fact, there are lots of things we can do to protect our oceans and wildlife, even if we are nowhere near the coast,” Zephie commented.

You can help protect the environment from the comfort of your own home by taking these three easy steps:

1. Never flush wet wipes, period products or anything else down the loo, unless it’s one of the 3 P’s – Pee, Poo and Paper!
2. Always dispose of these unflushable items in a bin. It’s so easy and has a big impact.
3. Look out for sustainable products that don’t contain plastic, such as reusable make up wipes, biodegradable pads and tampons or menstrual cups.

People can get involved in the campaign by sharing their pictures of how they are helping to Wipe Out Ocean Plastic and using the hashtag #WOOP!

For more information see our WOOP! page.