Beach litterers targeted with new campaign to clean up Brighton and Hove
Beach litterers are being targeted by Brighton and Hove City Council and environmental behaviour change charity Hubbub, who together have launched a new campaign, #Streetsahead, aiming to stop people from littering on the beaches and prevent marine plastic pollution.
Eight out of 10 Brighton and Hove residents say they are fed up with the amount of litter in the area, according to new research conducted by the council and a near-unanimous 97 per cent of people said that litter is ugly to look at, while 93 per cent think litter ruins communities and neighbourhoods. The campaign is funded by litter fines, and the majority of residents believe that these should be stricter; with 88 per cent of the people surveyed agreeing that penalties should be more harshly enforced.
The #Streetsahead campaign aims to capture the public’s imagination and encourage the responsible disposal of litter through a range of interesting installations and activities.
The campaign’s launch – which took place over the bank holiday weekend across the area’s beaches – featured a giant fish made from litter, litter rescue lifeguards and a trash converter, where people could trade their trash for treats.
#StreetsAhead is calls on Brighton & Hove residents to:
- Use the bin, not the pebbles, not the gutter, not the pavement
- If you see some litter and you’re near a bin – pick it up
- If the bin is full, find another one or take your litter home
The campaign is especially timely as the amount of litter entering our seas is increasing, explained Rebecca Dove, Managing Director of Hubbub: “35 per cent of fish off the coast of Britain have plastic in their gut and 80 per cent of ocean plastic comes from land-based sources. Litter in the sea takes centuries to break down and is harmful to birds, fish and other species. Brighton has a fantastic opportunity to lead the solution to tackle the issue of litter entering the sea along Britain’s coastline which is contributing to a pressing global issue.”
Beaches to be proud of
Commenting on the campaign’s launch, councillor Gill Mitchell of Brighton & Hove City Council said: “Brighton & Hove’s residents are rightly proud of the vibrant city we live in and we’re launching the #StreetsAhead campaign to make sure our streets and beaches are also something to be proud of. We’re starting with tackling beach litter as it’s such a focal point of the city.
“Tourism brings £845 million to Brighton & Hove’s economy each year and 82 per cent of tourists visit for the beach. Later in the year we’ll be running more activity around other parts of the city.”
Richard Bradley, Assistant Director, City Environment Services added: “We clean a shocking amount of litter from Brighton & Hove’s beaches – up to five van loads every day.
“People leave behind all kinds of rubbish, from drinks cans and bottles to unfinished fish and chips in polystyrene containers. As well as being an unsightly blight on our beaches, we can be sure that more rubbish blows into the sea before we can get to it, posing a hazard to marine life.”
Tough on litter, tough on the causes of litter
Hubbub has been channelling a significant amount of energy into anti-littering campaigns across the UK in the last year, fighting the blight on the nation’s streets costing the UK £850 million a year in street cleaning services.
In May, the charity launched its For Fish’s Sake #FFSLDN campaign in London which aimed to stop people from littering in the city’s streets and waterways using unusual methods such as voting bins and grate art.
Earlier that month, the charity also unveiled its ‘Trashconverter Van’ where members of the public can exchange litter for food, flowers and hot drinks in the Forest of Dean as part of its #LoveYourForest anti-litter campaign.
In February 2016, the charity released the results of its Neat Streets campaign, the testing a number of innovative methods for reducing street litter, which suggested that over the campaign’s six-month timescale the amount of litter produced had been reduced by 25 per cent.
In April the charity launched the Square Mile Challenge, a partnership with businesses and local authorities in the City of London to increase the collection and recycling of coffee cups, following a similar #1MoreShot campaign in Manchester.
More information on Brighton and Hove’s ‘#Streetsahead campaign can be found on Hubbub’s website.
