Beaches clean-up: North coast visitors join litter challenge

It may be one of our most stunning coastal areas, but even Ballycastle beach falls victim to littering, whether left behind or washed in.

So Causeway Coast and Glens Council is calling on visitors for help.

The scheme is called the 'Beach Bucket Challenge'.

"Even if every individual lifts one piece of litter, that potentially is millions of pieces of litter removed," said Declan Donnelly, an environmental resources officer at the council.

"So it's really simple. We're not asking an individual to do everything, just to do something."

The idea came from a local businesswoman, who was inspired by a primary school project.

Coffee shop owner Brenda Caher was inspired by a group of schoolchildren she noticed on the beach one day picking up litter.

"My niece was part of it," she said.

"I asked her what it was all about and she said it was part of her eco-council in school, so I thought it was a great idea, so I approached the council and asked what help they could provide."

That help took the form of litter pickers, biodegradable bags and buckets recycled from a local deli company.

They are available outside Brenda's beachside coffee house during opening hours, with the business happily taking the filled bags to be disposed of appropriately.

"Our motto is 'go green, keep the beach clean'," said Brenda.

"And it's important to help animals and marine life. It's a real family thing.

"We've run out of bags already and it's been a real success to date."

Other businesses around the coast are now signing up.

"We're open to talking to everybody, and you don't have to be a business - you could be a community group or a voluntary group or whatever," said Declan.

"This is part of a longer-term strategy. With families taking part, we're hoping that this generation of younger children will grow up and possibly take better care of their local environment than we have."

The Beach Bucket Challenge is just part of the council's longer-term environmental strategy, Live Smart, which encompasses things such as encouraging free water bottle refills in businesses and more recycling.

It has also signed up to a scheme called The Great Nurdle Hunt.

"Nurdles are essentially the building blocks of all plastic products," said Declan.

"Nurdles are about the size of a lentil, but often they can end up in the ocean and can be toxic."

It is estimated as many as 53bn nurdles could end up in the waters around the UK every year.

The Scottish environmental campaign charity Fidra organises The Great Nurdle Hunt, with finds being recorded to help build a global picture of the scale of the problem.

They are difficult to spot, but Declan said it is important to keep looking.

"People will look for larger pieces of litter, but it's the smaller pieces that cause the problem, because that's what marine animals are ingesting. So it's really important we tackle the small things as well as the big."

In the meantime, the hope is the Beach Bucket Challenge will help.

"There's a whole host of initiatives that people, churches, schools, businesses, individuals can get involved in," said Declan.

"We have an iconic coastline within our borough, we attract millions of visitors each year and we have 140,000 people who live here, who benefit from this.

"So there's an awareness that, if we don't do something and act now, the reasons that people come to visit or live here in 20 years' time may not be the same."