At the Marine Conservation Society, we’ve been tracking marine litter since 1994 through our beach clean and litter survey programme, Beachwatch. Every year, volunteers head to beaches across the UK and Channel Islands, removing and recording the rubbish they find. They data they collect on these cleans feeds into what is now one of the largest and most comprehensive datasets on beach litter across the UK, which acts as evidence on the scale and types of marine litter polluting our coastline to secure ocean-positive policies like the single-use plastic bans.
It’s been two years since the UK Government introduced bans on single-use plastic items like straws, and ten years since the charges on carrier bags were introduced. Since then, we’ve seen a positive impact on our marine environment, with our data recording an 80% drop in carrier bags found on UK beaches.
The Scottish Government banned the sale and manufacture of single use plastic cotton bud sticks in 2019 with England and Wales following suit in 2023. The presence of cotton bud sticks on surveyed beaches across the UK is gradually declining from 50% in 2019 to 39% in 2024.
Single use plastic cutlery, straws, expanded polystyrene cups, drink stirrers, plates, balloon sticks, expanded polystyrene takeaway containers and lids were banned in Scotland in 2022 and Wales and England in 2023. Early data analysis shows little observable change so far, but it is important to note that we are still in the early stages of monitoring. Interestingly the lowest presence recorded of these items was in 2021 suggesting the consultation and communication of the issue of these items may have had an impact on business and consumer behaviour.
Following years of campaigning, in April 2024 we were delighted to see all UK nations committing to ban plastic in single-use wet wipes. So far, Wales and England are the only governments to pass the necessary legislation, and with over 26,000 wet wipes recorded on beaches across the UK last year, we urgently need the rest of the UK to follow suit.
Our data has evidenced the constant presence of drinks containers on our coastline – drinks-related litter items were found on 96% of UK and Channel Island beach cleans last year – so it's great to see that Deposit Return Schemes are finally coming to the UK in October 2027. A recent report by Reloop showed that countries with Deposit Return Schemes had less drinks-related litter than countries without. A recent survey found a 30% drop in drinks-related litter on Irish beaches since the Republic introduced its scheme in 2024.
As governments and industry across the UK gear up for the schemes’ launch, we look forward to helping support ambitious Deposit Return Schemes for bottles and cans, whilst looking ahead to the inclusion of other materials and packaging and moves towards reuse.
Looking towards the future
Despite the progress we’ve made in recent years, the issue of marine litter, in particular ocean plastics, remains one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Each year, millions of tonnes of plastic and other waste materials make their way into our ocean, where they threaten marine ecosystems, wildlife and even human health. The scale of the problem is overwhelming, but it is not too late to turn the tide.
Whilst some domestic and international steps have been taken, there are still many opportunities for policymakers to reduce the amount of litter in our seas and washing up on our beaches.
Last year, all top five items found on beaches across the UK and Channel Islands were made of plastic, with the amount of plastic found on beaches increasing by almost 10% between 2023 and 2024. Despite the recent bans, 160,364 single-use plastic items were found on beaches last year, highlighting that more needs to be done to tackle this type of pollution and shift towards a circular economy where everything is designed to be reused, remade and repaired.
To further tackle beach litter including ocean plastics for good, we need governments across the UK to speed up progress towards a circular economy using every policy tool available, from charges and market restrictions to extended producer responsibility schemes.
We also need to see further bans on single-use plastic items implemented as soon as possible, including the already committed to ban on plastic in single-use wet wipes, and the full list of items in the EU Plastics Directive.
National marine litter strategies and litter prevention plans must be put in place, updated and suitably resourced to drive action from all stakeholders, including governments, regulators, industry, charities and communities.
Tackling marine litter requires collective action across governments, industries and individuals. No single solution will solve this problem; rather, it will take coordinated efforts, political will and innovative thinking to make meaningful progress.
Catherine Gemmell, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the Marine Conservation Society
The opinions expressed in this blog are the authors' and not necessarily those of the wider Link membership.
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