More than 70 kilograms of plastic waste removed from Brighton shoreline

Beach cleaners collecting litter near the Brighton pier

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More than 70 kilograms of plastic and pollution has been removed from the Brighton shoreline, following a mass beach and underwater clean around the pier.

The clean, which was led by experts at SEA LIFE Brighton on World Ocean Day (8th June), saw 123 volunteers collect a whopping 73.7 kilograms of litter over a four-hour period.

The mass of plastic waste was primarily made up of food packaging that had been left on the beach, as well as some unusual and larger objects including a pair of flamingo earrings and half a deck chair.

This is a huge difference to the previous year of the annual event, as the results were double that of the 2022 World Ocean Day beach clean that consisted of 37 participants and collected 40 kilograms of litter.

In addition to the efforts on land, experts at SEA LIFE Brighton teamed up with Oyster Diving to conduct the first ever underwater clean around Brighton pier, which resulted in the collection of countless disposable vapes and other plastic waste.

The team of divers even retrieved a full bottle of beer, novelty sunglasses and a mobile phone from the ocean bed.

The real extent of the impact all this litter is having on local marine life was made clear by the sea creatures the divers encountered, including a Tompot Blenny (fish) found living in a plastic tube, muscles attached to a laminated sign and a hairclip covered in enemies.