Marks & Spencer (M&S) is calling on its customers and employees to don their wellies again and volunteer to help their local community by cleaning the UK’s beaches and canals.
With the support of the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and the Canal & River Trust (CRT), this year's M&S Big Beach Clean-up will take place between 22nd and 28th April and it is hoped around 8,000 people will get involved.
The target is to clear more than 15 tonnes of litter – more than the weight of a double decker bus.
According to the MCS there are two pieces of litter on every metre of our coastline, most of it plastic. The harmful impacts of plastic on the UK’s marine life are becoming ever more apparent and the MCS is concerned that plastic pieces are found in the digestive systems of fish including Whiting, John Dory and Gurnard.
Most of the litter collected will be common items such as fishing nets, ropes and bottles tops. However last year M&S beach cleaners found an array of unusual items including a shopping trolley in Belfast, a set of false teeth and half a sofa in Edinburgh, a cabinet near Liverpool, a ten-pin bowling ball in Deal, a carpet in Clacton and a pink thong on Shoreham beach.
The cleans will take place at 113 beaches (open to M&S employees and customers) in the UK and Ireland - including Swansea, Blackpool, Southend, Aberdeen, Douglas, Dublin and Portsmouth - and 50 canal locations (M&S employees only) - including the Grand Union Canal in London, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in Leeds and the Birmingham & Fazley Canal in Birmingham.
Customers that register in advance at www.mcsuk.org/foreverfish will receive a money-off at M&S voucher (?5 off a ?30 spend on food and drink) on the day of their beach clean.
Last year over 6,000 people (4,000 M&S employees and 2,000 M&S customers) volunteered and collected 3,200 bin bags full of litter after cleaning over 100km of beaches and canals. The bags weighed in at over 11.5 tonnes. This included 12,800 wrappers and 2,850 tin cans.
Sacha Berendji, Director of Retail at Marks & Spencer, said: “Our Big Beach Clean-up is a great way for customers and M&S colleagues to volunteer, help their local community and protect our precious marine life. It’s a great fun, outdoor activity that is rewarding in more ways than one. Beach cleaners are helping the environment, their community and those that register in advance get a ?5 money-off voucher.”
Samantha Fanshawe, MCS Chief Executive, said: “M&S’ employee and customer support for beach cleans last year really helped us to turn a corner in the fight against beach litter. It is fantastic to have their support again this year and we’re hoping for a massive turn out from the public to make this the biggest event ever and to remove even more litter from our precious marine environment”.
Simon Salem, Marketing Director at the CRT, said: “The canal network is a national treasure and a haven for many endangered and much loved species. By supporting the new Trust and our waterways, the M&S Big Beach Clean-up recognises the value of the waterways for fish and other wildlife. By donating their time, M&S employees will help make a real difference to the canal that’s on their doorstep.”
The M&S Big Beach Clean-up is part of M&S’ Forever Fish campaign which is funded by the profits from the 5p carrier bag charge in M&S foodhalls. Since its introduction in 2008, the charge has reduced carrier bag use by 78 per cent and raised over ?4 million for charity.
Customers can find out more www.marksandspencer.com/plana and follow the event on twitter (@marksandspencer or search #beachclean) and facebook (www.facebook.com/marksandspencer).
