Results from the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean (GBBC) have been announced. The GBBC is a four day event each September where just less than 6,000 volunteers helped clean 364 beaches around the UK in 2016. At each beach clean volunteers surveyed the type and abundance of litter collected. In 2016 268,384 pieces
English Bathing Waters Update
by NWCF on November 9, 2016
New statistics released by DEFRA on the quality of bathing water around England have shown that swimming waters are the cleanest since records began. 413 beaches and lakes were tested around the country of which 98.5% of those passed standards with 93.2% of those being rated ‘excellent’ or ‘good’, an increase of over 5% since
#SwitchTheStick Campaign Launched
by NWCF on September 22, 2016
City to Sea have recently launched a campaign called #SwitchTheStick which is currently petitioning against using plastic in cotton buds. Cotton buds are increasingly being washed up on beaches around the world as it is thought that people flush them down the toilet which then make their way through our sewers and eventually into the sea. These
#DayAtTheBeach Launched by LOVEmyBEACH
by NWCF on September 1, 2016
LOVEmyBEACH, an environmental awareness organisation, are encouraging people to use the Twitter hashtag #DayAtTheBeach to celebrate summer days at the beach. The hashtag aims to raise awareness of those who take care of beaches in the North West including litter pickers, bin emptiers and life guards. LOVEmyBEACH outlines ways in which beach users can contribute towards cleaner
MCS Great British Beach Clean 16th-19th September 2016
by NWCF on August 30, 2016
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is hosting their annual Great British Beach Clean which will be from Friday 16th to Monday 19th September. So far there are more than 200 events listed around the UK over the long weekend. During the beach cleans there is also an opportunity to survey litter in a defined area which
Blue Flag Award for Blackpool South Beach
by NWCF on May 30, 2016
A total of 68 beaches around England have achieved a Blue Flag Award in the 2016 designations. The Blue Flag Award is an international award presented to well managed beaches with excellent water quality and environmental education programmes. For the first time in history Blackpool South Beach will be flying the Blue Flag Award. A further 111 Seaside Awards
Keep Britain Tidy #Street2Sea Marine Litter Campaign Launched
by NWCF on May 16, 2016
UK charity Keep Britain Tidy, in partnership with supermarket chain Lidl, have launched the #Street2Sea campaign which aims to raise awareness of the damage that urban litter has to coastal environments and marine wildlife. To launch the campaign, a eco-artist, nicknamed ‘Moose’, has been enlisted to manage an art project which power-washes stencils of marine wildlife onto
2015 Bathing Water Results Published
by NW Coastal Forum on November 7, 2015
Defra has published the 2015 Bathing Waters Compliance Report. New, tougher bathing water standards are now in place with 4 categories: poor, sufficient, good and excellent. In total 624 freshwater, estuarine and coastal bathing waters (waters officially designated for bathing) were monitored across the UK with 415 in England, 102 in Wales, 84 in Scotland and 23 in
LOVEmyBEACH – an update on the work of the Turning Tides Partnership
by NW Coastal Forum on August 5, 2015
The latest LOVEmyBEACH e-newsletter is available to download from the link below. It contains links to a map of beach water quality in the North West of England, where to find your local beach clean event, a survey being run by Sefton Council on bathing water quality and news about the recent school Illuminations competition
100% pass rate for designated bathing waters in the North West
by NWCF on November 11, 2014
30 designated bathing waters, including marine and freshwater, in the North West have successfully passed the European Union’s current standards for bathing waters. 13 of the designated waters achieved the highest possible standard, referred to as ‘guideline’ under the existing Bathing Water Directive. Bathing water quality standards are set to increase under the revised Bathing Water Directive