Found On The Beach

Found On The Beach has been nominated for Sustainability Hero of the Year

Founded in 2016, this volunteer beachcombing Facebook group has amassed nearly 5000 followers as they comb the beaches of Guernsey for marine litter – mainly of the indestructible plastic sort, much of it illegally dropped by ships in the busy English Channel.

By identifying the litter washing ashore they can start to narrow down which ships are culpable, and compare their findings with their 200-strong network of beachcombing groups across the world. They have identified litter from more than 80 countries, such as Australian milk cartons. They have matched bottles washing up in Guernsey to those polluting the remote and uninhabited Henderson Island in the South Pacific. 

They plan to present their findings in London soon.

‘This is a group effort,’ said Richard Lord, a marine biologist and photographer. 

‘You need to know that other people are involved, otherwise it’s easy to lose motivation.’ 

Richard even helped organise a partnership with Condor and a Dorset-based company to transport the litter, like netting, that cannot be processed on the island, to a recycling plant in Exeter.

‘The lack of accountability for those people polluting our oceans is scary,’ said their anonymous nominator.

‘Plastic can be found everywhere in the world, from the depths of the Mariana Trench to our own bodies. But when people work together they can make a difference – they’re proof of that.’

Other Finalists