Across the world there is a major problem with plastic waste, it's not just an eye sore but as causing harm to the worlds marine life. Only nine percent of it is being recycled and more needs to be done about it. People need a better understanding of how plastic is causing a danger to the environment .

In Northern Ireland there is a big problem with litter on the beaches, Ulster University’s Geography and Environmental Society (GES) and Students Union held a cross-campus beach clean on Whitepark Bay, on March 20th, as part of the “Green Initiative” campaign.   Sixty people from across campuses and subjects came along to take part in the beach clean, which was support by the National Trust, Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council and Live Here Love Here.

Live Here Love Here is a joint partnership between various councils, departments and Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful. 

The SU have introduced a “Green Initiative” and reducing the use of single-use plastic is a big part of it. When the GES was asked to open up the beach clean to  other students and staff from across the university they were more than happy to do it. GES have been increasing the awareness and issues of using single-use plastic and trying to encourage people to reduce the use of plastic.

VP Coleraine Owen McCloskey and VP Magee Collette Cassidy

The chair of GES Natalie Melo stated,

“There’s a book by Dr Sylvia Earle, called ‘The World Is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean's are One’, which is relevant here, I think.  

“When we talk about ocean acidification, the oceans ability to absorb CO2 and organisms able to create oxygen, humans cannot survive without it. At the moment our oceans and the marine life is in serious danger.

  “Beach cleans are literally just a way of getting out and cleaning up a bit but the point of it is to send the message out to communities and educate people about the bigger problems.”

Eight million tonnes  of plastic waste is discarded into our oceans each year, which has a major Impact on marine wildlife such as Sperm Whales. More than 30 were found beached around Europe in 2016.

Plastic is one of the few materials that never degrades completely in the natural environment  and breaks down into smaller segments over time. Micro-plastics create a number of different threats to life. For example, small organisms  such as plankton can ingest them, which then creates a problem in the food chain that sees plastic accumulating at every level until it reaches our plates.  A recent study showed that, globally, 83% of tap water samples contained particles of plastic.

Photos from the clean up .