Beach clean-up will bring double benefit for communities

For the seventh year running, salmon farmer Scottish Sea Farms (SSF) will be taking part in the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Great British Beach Clean – this time with an extra benefit to local communities. 

Not only will SSF staff be helping clear debris from coastlines across Shetland, Orkney and the Scottish mainland, but each participating team will also be awarded a £100 Heart of the Community donation for the local cause of their choice. 

This year’s event, which runs from Friday 20 to Sunday 29 September, is set to be the company’s biggest effort yet with 16 beach cleans registered so far.

Highlands beaches

Among these are three in the Highlands, all of which will be community events, open to anyone who can spare an hour or two to support a great cause.

Spearheaded by Kishorn farm manager Iain Flack, they will take place this Saturday from 12.30-2.30pm, preceded by a CPR and defibrillator training session at 10.30am, run by St John’s Ambulance and organised in conjunction with the Kishorn Community Trust. 

Flack said he and his team had a vested interest in protecting the coastal environment and were looking forward to working with other volunteers to help keep the shoreline pristine.

"It’s not a question of engaging with the local community, we are part of the local community," said Flack. "The majority of the farm team live in and around the area so it’s only natural that we want to look after it.

"The more of us locally who pitch in, the bigger the difference we’ll make."

Plastic and polystyrene

As is core to the Great British Beach Clean, each participating team will record the nature and volume of the debris removed from a 100m stretch of shoreline and submit the details to the MCS national database to help inform activity and shape policy.

Previous beach cleans have revealed a high proportion of plastic and polystyrene, as well as metal, wood, pottery and ceramics, glass, paper and cardboard, rubber, cloth and sanitary waste.

SSF's Heart of the Community Coordinator Jessica Taylor-McKaig, said: "Our farm teams are involved in beach cleans throughout the year, from the ad-hoc to local community events, but the Great British Beach Clean is great for enlisting the support of colleagues from across the wider company. 

"This year’s new addition of a £100 Heart of the Community donation to a local good cause, for every beach cleaned, has helped drive up registrations even further."

The beach cleans are part of a wider initiative by the company and Scottish salmon farming sector to keep Scotland’s beaches free of marine litter by recovering any items regardless of their origin.