Coastal Cleaners

We can all do our bit to save the planet. And the Causeway Head Women’s Institute (WI) have been doing their bit to keep Cumbria green and clean by adopting Silloth West Beach and collecting the litter that washes up on the shoreline.

One of the team from the WI, Francis Jackson, told us: “We started collecting litter from the beach in 2006. There’s a group of 7 or 8 of us from the WI, and we’re pensioners. “We go out and collect the rubbish about twice a month and send details of what we find to the Marine Conservation Society every quarter. The Society are interested in what we pick up so that they can work out where it’s coming from and how it’s getting into our coastal waters. In 2006 we picked up 170 bin liners of rubbish, in 2007 we picked up 130, and so far this year we’ve picked up over a hundred.“Everyone that takes part enjoys doing it. We generally pick up lots of plastics, fishing nets and fishing line, and general rubbish that people have just thrown into the sea. But we do find some very unusual items too – we even found a full size paddling pool recently!”