2024 has been another busy year for Sutton-on-Sea BeachCare.
Run by mother and son team Lianne and Jordan Havell, this friendly litter picking group have completed 235 beach cleans removing a staggering 527 full bags of litter from Sutton-on-Sea beach.
This litter was made up of 2,423 plastic bottles, 2,298 cans, and 817 glass bottles, totalling an estimated 233.3kg of littered drinks containers.
This year the team saw an excessive amount of marine related litter, such as pieces of rope, crab pots, and other fishing items. It is likely that this is due to an increase in the number of storms through the Spring and Winter months.
Alongside their litter picking activities the group have been busy sharing their anti-littering messages, making six TV appearances and taking part in five radio interviews. All this alongside attending fabulous local community events.
The group have continued their efforts to recycle and rehome beach toys. With toys found on litter picks being cleaned up before being offered initially to preschools and nurseries, with any leftover toys then being sold at community events to raise money for the group.
2025 is a new year and while the challenge of litter is unlikely to go away overnight, Sutton-On-Sea BeachCare will be continuing their campaign to prevent litter from entering the ocean where it causes great harm to ecosystems.
Group leader Lianne talks about the importance of the beach to her community:
“The beach is important to us as it’s an important blue space which helps with being outdoors and is good for people’s mental health. We like to keep it clean as a feeling pride that helps people coming back to visit our beach.”
Lianne continues with a reminder that “a clean beach is a happy beach and also a very happy BeachCare!”
Would you like to help Sutton-on-Sea BeachCare?
To learn more about how to get involved with Sutton-On-Sea BeachCare litter picks you can find them on social media:
Follow this link to view their Facebook page.
Or you can follow this link to find them on the X Platform.
You can join a litter pick, comment on their posts, or head into the Beach Bar to leave a monetary donation.
The RiverCare and BeachCare programme is delivered by Keep Britain Tidy in partnership with Anglian Water, with the aim of supporting local community groups to protect and enhance their local waterways and beaches.
By joining Sutton On Sea BeachCare you will be joining over 1,500 regular RiverCare and BeachCare volunteers from across the whole Anglian Water region.
