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Items found on a beach or at the coast, whether washed up or left behind, as a result of human activity are classified as coastal/marine litter.

Coastal litter is usually grouped into eight main material types, but the most commonly found items are made of plastic. The other groups are glass, metal, cloth, paper, polystyrene, rubber and wood. A separate category, sewage related debris (SRD), defines a range of items made from different material types which enter the marine environment from our sewer network.

There are four main sources of coastal/marine litter: beach visitors, the fishing industry, the shipping industry and our sewage network. Despite there being legislation and investment to tackle such sources, coastal/marine litter levels are still unacceptably high.

There are four main reasons that coastal and marine litter is problematic:

1. It can damage the Scottish tourism industry

Litter is unsightly and may put people off visiting an area again. Scotland is known for its beautiful countryside, but visitors' experiences can be spoilt by debris washed in on the tide. Comments from participants interviewed by Keep Scotland Beautiful in 2004 ranged from; 'there are bags of litter in the dunes as you walk to the beach - it puts you off really', to 'Look at that piece of glass there it would cut your feet to shreds'. Overall coastal/marine litter was believed to be the most offensive element of a beach visit that people were likely to remember.

2. It can harm and/or kill wildlife

Marine debris can directly harm wildlife due to entanglement, ingestion, smothering and toxicity. Each year hundreds of birds, marine mammals and sea turtles die due to entanglement in, or ingestion of, plastics.

A recent study in the North Sea has shown that Fulmars are particularly susceptible to ingesting marine litter with 98% of birds surveyed having plastic in their stomachs. Dead Minke whales, leatherback turtles and even a rare Cuvier's beaked whale have all washed ashore with large quantities of plastic in their stomachs.

3. It costs a lot of money to remove from the beaches

It is estimated that North Sea local authorities spend £3 million each year cleaning amenity beaches to protect their tourism industry (Hall, 2000) (KIMO report - Impacts of Marine Debirs and Oil - Economic & Social Costs to Coastal Communities) This figure doesn't cover other more inaccessible areas of the coastline. One Scottish local authority has stated that it can cost up to £10,000 (including costs for staff, equipment, disposal costs etc) a month to clean one beach.

Fishing vessels, along with the aqua-culture industry and shipping, are often blamed for litter appearing on the beaches around Scotland, but volunteer Adopt-a-Beach (MCS Adopt-a-Beach) surveys organised by the Marine Conservation Society show that the type of litter depends on the area and the use of the coast.

4. It can cost industry money

Boats at sea are often affected by fouled propellers and blocked intake pipes, while fishing boats are also subjected to damaged nets and contaminated catch all due to the illegal disposal of waste at sea. KIMO is currently running a 'Fishing for Litter' campaign in Scotland which encourages fishermen who catch waste in their nets to bring it back to shore where it is disposed of appropriately.

The Fishing for litter initiative was developed during a three year EU funded project called Save the North Sea. At the end of the three year project 54 boats in four countries were involved and 450 tonnes of marine litter had been caught. Fishing for Litter Scotland is an expansion of the scheme in Scotland , Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands which aims to set up a network of 10 harbours for collecting marine litter. The project aims to sign up 100 boats and to collect 500 tonnes of marine litter.

Scottish Water has invested billions around the coast of Scotland to improve the sewage network but as long as people keep flushing inappropriate items down the toilet, sewage related debris will still escape into the marine environment. Scottish Water jointly with the Scottish Government and Clean Coast Scotland ran a 'Bag it and bin it - please don't flush it' (Bag it and Bin it) campaign in 2003.

• 20,000 tonnes of marine litter are dumped in the North Sea every year. Of that 70% sinks to the bottom, 15% floats on the surface and 15% is washed up on our coasts.
• More than one million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die each year throughout the world after either becoming entangled in or eating plastic materials found in the sea.
• Plastic items do not just disappear after being thrown into the sea. A plastic bottle can remain intact for up to 450 years and, although it will eventually break down into smaller pieces through weathering, will never completely biodegrade. Microscopic plastic pieces are found in beach sand throughout the UK.
• Although people often think that fruit peel will biodegrade naturally in the environment - it can take up to two years for orange peel or banana skins to disappear in the marine environment.
• It is estimated that 2 billion sanitary items are flushed down the toilet every year in the UK.
• North Sea fishermen spend an average 1-2 hours each week cleaning their nets of marine litter.
• Floating litter can result in expensive repairs for boat engines and propellers.
• Local Authority beach cleaning around the North Sea costs taxpayers millions of Pounds each year.
• Almost 98% of dead North Sea fulmars surveyed in the southern region of the North Sea were found to have plastic in their stomachs.
• 70,000 cubic metres of solid waste items end up as marine litter in the North Sea every year.
• The main types of North Sea marine litter are: plastic, polystyrene, rubber, wood, metals, sanitary and sewage-related debris, paper and cardboard, cloth, glass and pottery.
• 'The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships' (MARPOL 73/78) forbids dumping at sea, and so does the London Convention 1972, the OSPAR Convention 1992, and the EU Port Reception Facility Directive (DIRECTIVE 2000/59/EC, December 2002). Despite this, marine litter still exists.

Keep Scotland Beautiful works with local authorities through the Blue Flag and Seaside Award schemes to promote sustainable litter removal from beaches. We also encourage local authorities to provide appropriate covered bins (so that the sea birds can't get in and redistribute the litter again) and dog waste bins for beach visitors to use. Award beaches are also invited to display information to the public about the effects of recreational litter left behind on the environment, economy and wildlife.

Keep Scotland Beautiful contributes to public awareness campaigns and supports the work carried out regionally by the Coastal Partnerships.

You can follow a few simple rules when you visit the beach to help keep our coast litter free:

• Take your litter home with you after visiting beaches or sailing
• On each visit to the beach pick up one piece of litter and dispose of it appropriately
• Organise a spring clean as part of National Spring Clean in April next year.
• Save entangled fishing line, which can trap birds and marine animals, and dispose of it properly
• Tell your friends that they can help make a difference to the cleanliness of our coast.
• Dispose of sanitary waste in the bin rather than down the toilet.

If you feel that you would like to do more, we would encourage you to investigate the Marine Conservation Society's Adopt-a-Beach scheme (MCS Adopt-a-Beach) which allows you to survey and pick up the litter on your favourite beach contributing to the largest data set on marine/coastal litter. The information compiled is used to lobby Government and manufacturers to address the issues of marine/coastal litter.

Q. What are the most common types of litter?
A. Coastal litter is usually grouped into eight main material types, but the most commonly found items are made of plastic. The other groups are glass, metal, cloth, paper, polystyrene, rubber and wood. A separate category, Sewage Related Debris (SRD), defines a range of items made from different material types which enter the marine environment from our sewer network.

Q. What are the most common sources of litter?
A. There are four main sources of coastal/marine litter: beach visitors, the fishing industry, the shipping industry and our sewage network. Litter can end up on our coasts from other sources too. It is often blown from land into watercourses and the sea, and it can also be transported by birds and animals scavenging from bins.

Q. Who has the responsibility to monitor and clean up marine litter from our coast?
A. The Code of Practice on Litter & Refuse (Scotland) 2006 has been produced following a revision of the litter and flytipping provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Following a year long consultation, both you and the Duty Bodies - the organisations with a legal responsibility for keeping public places clear of litter - can find guidance in the first ever, Scottish only Code. It helps explain who has a duty to clean public places, what their responsibility is, how you as an individual can tell if a place is clean, and what to do if you don't think public places are of an acceptable standard in terms of litter & flytipping. The standards of cleanliness, zoning and response times remain largely unchanged, but information relating to non-local authority duty bodies has been clarified. Major amendments to the code includes a greater focus on beach cleansing standards, guidance on issuing fixed penalty notices and more information for the public. Copies of the Code of Practice can be downloaded from (Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse)

There is currently no lead body tackling the issue of marine litter. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) currently has no statutory control over coastal litter although it does monitor sewage related debris.

The largest set of data on marine litter levels in the UK is compiled by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) as part of its Beachwatch programme (MCS Adopt-a-Beach). Data is collected by volunteers who submit findings to MCS and an annual report is produced. Data from a selection of these surveys is also fed into an International monitoring programme run by OSPAR (OSPAR Marine Litter Monitoring Group).

What laws are in place to combat marine litter?

The North Sea and the Baltic Sea are designated as MARPOL Special Areas for the purpose of Annex V, and the dumping of all garbage and litter from ships is prohibited.

The UK Government controls matters such as shipping and marine conservation beyond 12 nautical miles (?), and the Scottish Parliament has control over certain matters within 12 nautical miles of Scotland. Inshore fisheries, aquaculture, mariculture, coastal management, renewable energy, conservation, pollution, dredging, dumping, and research within 12nm are controlled by the Scottish Parliament.

In the recent draft European Union Marine Strategy, marine litter was identified as an issue that member Governments should act on.

Other Conventions which cover marine litter are:

• UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
• Agenda 21, UN Commission on Sustainable Development and World Summit on Sustainable Development.
• UN International Maritime Organization (IMO): International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).
• Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and other Matter (London Convention)
• Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal