Working Towards The Forth a Litter Free Forth Coastal Litter Campaign Working Towards The Forth a Litter Free Forth Coastal Litter Campaign Established in 1993, the Forth Estuary Forum is a voluntary partnership, comprising members from a diverse range of organisations as well as interested individuals whose aim is to “promote the wise and sustainable use of the Forth”. The Forth Estuary Forum’s ‘Integrated Management Strategy’ identified marine and coastal litter as being a high profile and important issue which the Forth’s communities, users, planners and managers wished to see tackled in a co-ordinated manner. The Forth Estuary Forum’s Coastal Litter Campaign, funded by Fife Environment Trust, The BOC Foundation and Edinburgh Environment Partnership Grants Scheme Ltd., was launched in the summer of 2001 and aimed to develop and implement a community involvement and public awareness-raising programme intended to tackle and monitor the issue of marine and coastal litter in the Firth of Forth. The project ran for three years involving three main integrated components: co-ordinated clean-up and community involvement campaign; awareness and education campaign; ongoing monitoring programme. This report is a product of the Forth Estuary Forum’s Coastal Litter Campaign. The judgements and conclusions made herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the organisations working in partnership with the Forth Estuary Forum. Suggested citation: Storrier, K.L. (2004) The Forth Coastal Litter Campaign: Working Towards a Litter-free Forth. Forth Estuary Forum, Rosyth, Scotland, 72pp. ISBN: 0-9529692- 1-1 Copies available from: Telephone: 01383 420104 Forth Estuary Forum Fax: 01383 418468 Exmouth Building E-mail: [email protected] Port of Rosyth Web site: http://www.forthestuaryforum.co.uk Rosyth Fife, KY11 2XP Registered Charity Number: SC027467 Foreword and Acknowledgements From it’s launch on 8 June 2001 at the Scottish Seabird Centre, the Coastal Litter Campaign has gone from strength to strength, gaining recognition as an example of best practice in tackling coastal and marine litter through clean ups, litter surveys and education and awareness. The campaign was identified as a flagship project in the Forth Estuary Forum’s Integrated Management Strategy when launched in 1999. Over the last three years it has proved to be a successful example of coastal partnership in action, not just involving coastal organisations, but many communities on the Forth, a large number of schools and numerous volunteers who have supported the campaign. The Forth Estuary Forum presents this report as a summary of the last three years’ work, outlining the many achievements of the campaign and looking at how management of coastal and marine litter can be taken forward in the future. On behalf of the Forth Estuary Forum I would like to thank persons from the following organisations who contributed their time and expertise to the Coastal Litter Campaign: The BOC Foundation; City of Edinburgh Council; Clean Coast Scotland; Culross Community Council; East Lothian Council; Fife Council; Keep Scotland Beautiful; Marine Conservation Society; Napier University; Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Water, as well as the many volunteers, coastal communities and schools who have taken part in clean ups and surveys and learnt about the types, sources and impacts of coastal and marine litter. I would also highlight the dedication, drive and commitment of Forum Staff, in particular Karen the Campaign Project Officer, in bringing about success. Finally, this project would not have happened without our funding partners, Fife Environment Trust, The BOC Foundation and Edinburgh Environment Partnerships Grants Scheme Ltd., who had faith to commit finance to the campaign over the last three years. Robin Hamilton Chairman, Forth Estuary Forum April 2004 Cover photo: North Queensferry beach clean, Spring 2003 (Forth Estuary Forum) Circle photos © KSB; Skea; FEF; MCA; Smith; Fife Council; MCS “Make, nae break this golden firth Caress its shores with pride Seek its wildness; guard its trade Together: tide on tide” Executive Summary Marine litter can be categorised according to material type and originates from four main sources – recreation, sewage, fishing and shipping. The impacts of marine litter are recognised worldwide, causing aesthetic degradation, threatening human health and local economies and having negative impacts on wildlife and ecosystems. Communities and organisations were encouraged to initiate and carry out co-ordinated and consolidated clean-up events in association with the Marine Conservation Society’s Adopt- a-Beach campaign. Numerous methods were employed to raise awareness regarding the types, sources and impacts of marine litter. The main educational messages that were promoted were UKCEED’s Bag It and Bin It campaign, the Blue Flag campaign, administered in the UK by ENCAMS, and the Marine Conservation Society’s Adopt-a-Beach campaign. An important aspect of the Coastal Litter Campaign was the ability to monitor and evaluate the changing trends for marine litter in the Forth and allow for the development of individual programmes of action to tackle the litter at source. A team of dedicated volunteers used a scientifically standardised technique to assess trends in the deposition of fresh marine litter each month. Sea-born sources of litter (from fishing vessels, shipping) appear to be relatively insignificant in the Firth of Forth – perhaps due to the provision of adequate Port Reception Facilities in the Firth of Forth. Localised campaigns should therefore be focused on litter from land- based sources, including fly-tipping and rivers. This emphasises the need for the continued promotion of UKCEED’s Bag It and Bin It campaign, as well as the labelling of all sanitary products with the correct disposal information. Beach visitors are responsible for the majority of beach litter in the Firth of Forth, reflecting a low appreciation of individual responsibility for the natural environment. Numerous anti-littering campaigns have been initiated in recent years but it would appear that these messages need to be continually reinforced as part of beach management plans and within the national curriculum. The high level of interest in the Forth Estuary Forum’s Coastal Litter Campaign and subsequent extremely positive evaluation comments demonstrate the success of the Coastal Litter Campaign. Substantial progress has been made in working towards “a litter-free Forth” and achieving a marked difference in attitude to litter in the Firth of Forth’s catchment area. The Forth Estuary Forum’s Coastal Litter Campaign highlights the following recommendations – it is hoped that they will act as a catalyst to stimulate discussion in order to take the Coastal Litter Campaign forward: • The Forth Estuary Forum should continue to manage and further develop the Coastal Litter Campaign; • Strategic Waste Fund and/or Aggregate Tax funding should be used to employ contractors to clear material from heavily littered areas; • Local Authorities and coastal partnerships should continue to support voluntary beach litter survey initiatives such as the Marine Conservation Society’s Adopt-a-Beach project. The success of the Adopt-a-Beach project would be further consolidated with a network of co-ordinators to provide regional support throughout the UK; • Raising public awareness is an essential part of anti-littering campaigns since changing attitudes and behaviour is the only guaranteed method of reducing litter at source. To this end, educational material regarding the types, sources and impacts of marine litter should be incorporated into the national curriculum; • To prevent littering from beach visitors, waste minimisation incentives should be further promoted, e.g. ‘reduce – reuse – recycle’, to educate beach visitors to take their litter home and recycle as much as possible; • SRD is still a problem despite massive investment from Scottish Water. UKCEED’s Bag It and Bin It campaign should be further promoted to reduce sanitary waste inputs into the sewerage system, with labelling of sanitary products with the Bag It and Bin It logo; 6 The Forth Coastal Litter Campaign • Community Councils should continue to work with Local Authorities in order to achieve beach awards. Such status is an effective tool for raising awareness about the issues surrounding marine litter and can help to bring about a change in attitude and ultimately a reduction in litter at source; • Beaches are a natural asset to Local Authorities and should be viewed as such. This should be reflected in visitor interpretation material and tourist brochures. Beaches must be seen to be viewed as a precious natural resource in order for individuals and organisations to develop a sense of environmental responsibility and treat them accordingly; • Litter monitoring should be incorporated into Local Authority beach management plans to assess the effectiveness of anti-littering campaigns. The technique employed by the Coastal Litter Campaign quickly identifies problem areas and is recommended in the first instance. Thereafter the use of the Environment Agency/National Aquatic Litter Group (NALG) protocol is recommended as an ongoing litter monitoring tool, producing ‘public- friendly’ results which could be fed into a national database similar to that for bathing water quality results. Any approach needs to be holistic, working closely with other Local Authorities in the region, taking note of sediment cells