A huge thank you to those who went along to the M&S Beach Clean-up at Blackpill beach on Wednesday, what a fantastic effort you all gave. Here is what happened:
Over 75 local volunteers descended on Swansea Bay (Blackpill) today to take part in Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) 4th annual Big Beach Clean-up. M&S customers and employees were joined by The Right Worshipful The Lord Mayor of the City and County of Swansea, Councillor Ceinwen Thomas, and other local community groups to help free the beach from rubbish and protect the area’s marine life.
The Marks and Spencer Big Beach Clean Up in Swansea Bay.
The event is run in partnership with the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and saw litter pickers collecting everything from cotton buds, wrappers, tin cans and fishing nets to more unusual items such as a crow bar and metal sheets. More than 30 bags of rubbish were collected from Swansea Bay weighing in at a staggering 86kg.
Following the clean-up event, volunteers were able to relax on deckchairs and enjoy entertainment with a twist. Giant versions of some of Britain’s best loved party games including Connect Four, Jenga, Twister, Draughts and Snakes & Ladders were set up on the beach for people to have fun after the litter-clearing was finished!
Adrian Lister, store manager at M&S Swansea, said: “The Big Beach Clean-up is all about bringing the local community together to help protect marine life and the environment and it was fantastic to see people working together, having fun and supporting such a great cause. We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who gave up their time to help tidy Swansea Bay.”
The Right Worshipful The Lord Mayor of the City and County of Swansea, Councillor Ceinwen Thomas, said: “Since the Big Beach Clean-up began four years ago, over 20,000 people have taken part and 62.5 tonnes of litter has been cleared from our canals and beaches. This is a real achievement and it’s also fantastic to see so many people come out to help make our beaches a cleaner place for us all to enjoy this summer.”
The 4th annual Big Beach Clean-up events took place at 145 beaches and canals up and down the country between the 7th and 13th May. It is expected that over 8,000 people (3,000 M&S employees and 5,000 M&S customers) will take part and customers can find their nearest beach clean and sign-up at www.mcsuk.org/foreverfish.
Volunteers from M+S, Llandarcy College and members of the public get ready to take part in the Marks and Spencer Big Beach Clean Up in Swansea Bay.
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 75 per cent and raised over £8 million for good causes.
Customers can find out more at www.marksandspencer.com/plana and follow the event on twitter (@marksandspencer or search #beachclean) and facebook (www.facebook.com/marksandspencer).