Clean Cornwall has launched a new campaign to tackle marine plastic pollution, called The Blue Litter Project.

Expected to run during the tourist season in 2024, this initiative intends to collect, monitor, and identify litter across Cornwall's remote marine sectors with the aid of local firms and the ocean leisure market.

The campaign was launched earlier this year, motivated by escalating worries regarding the effect of marine litter and plastic on Cornish communities and their natural surroundings.

Since 2005, marine plastic pollution has been escalating at unprecedented levels, and Cornwall has been similarly affected.

Earlier studies by the University of Exeter exposed that the South West's marine protected areas are some of the most litter-affected in England.

The issue of litter in Cornwall came to public attention in March when the RSPCA issued a litter warning for Devon and Cornwall after addressing 594 cases of animals impacted by litter between 2020 and 2023.

Falmouth Packet:

Clean Cornwall proposes to counter these harmful effects with the aid of local businesses, conservation groups, and enthusiasts.

They are offering resources including extendable poles with keep net and boat hook attachments to collect litter from vessels, as well as project-vouched litter collection bags made from recycled PET plastic bottles.

This enables participants to gather, store and categorise litter without using disposable plastic bags.

Complementing these physical tools, an app developed by the Clean Cornwall team will enable county-wide data collection to help identify the most problematic areas and common types of marine litter.

The Marine Management Organisation’s Fisheries and Seafood scheme has funded The Blue Litter Project.

A growing number of collaborators are supporting this initiative by using the project's resources to gather and record litter data as they encounter it.

The project is open to interested individuals, groups, and businesses.

Clean Cornwall is inviting participants to contact them via email at info@cleancornwall.org or through their website.

Participants can access the Blue Litter Project Hub app to upload their own litter findings and learn to use the app on the Blue Litter Project page on Clean Cornwall's website.