Scottish Seabird Centre

Help Tackle Coastal Pollution

Pollution: Here’s the Problem

Marine litter is the most visible source of marine pollution. Every year, up to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic enters the world’s oceans, 80% of which starts its journey on land. Whether it’s discarded drink bottles, cotton buds, carrier bags, sewage-related debris, medical waste, shipping debris and discarded fishing lines, nets or gear, the problem with marine litter is extensive—as is the harm it does to wildlife and the environment.

81 of 123 species of marine mammals and 44% of seabirds are known to be directly impacted by marine litter. It can be found in the nests of seabirds, has been ingested by hundreds of marine species that we know of, and regularly causes harm through entanglements.

An adult gannet with netting/string tangled around its neck and beak — This adult gannet has become entangled in netting/string

What Can You Do?

There are lots of little things that we can all do to help. Whether it’s picking up a piece of litter whilst on a walk along the beach, or joining an organised beach clean and litter survey, there are plenty of ways you can get involved.

Here at the Scottish Seabird Centre, we want to make doing that as simple and accessible as possible!

Polystyrene and other small plastic fragments are washed up with natural materials such as grasses, roots and seaweed — Plastic fragments, such as pieces of polystyrene, can be washed up amongst natural debris on beaches

Borrow Beach Clean Kit

The Scottish Seabird Centre is a Community Clean-up Hub—one of more than 100 such examples in a network of them developed by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful. This means that anyone living in North Berwick or visiting the area can borrow the kit that they need to carry out a clean-up, individually or with your own group of family, friends or likeminded locals. We want to make sure that anyone who wants to help people and wildlife by cleaning up the coastline can access the kit that they need.

Click here to arrange to collect some kit or to find out more about how it works and what’s included.

A large group of people gather outside the Scottish Seabird Centre on a sunny day before going for a beach clean — In late 2023, storms washed up a lot of litter on North Berwick's Beaches. A huge number of people borrowed beach clean kit to help remove it!

Join an Organised Beach Clean

If you’re not keen on organising something yourself, we run regular beach cleans around East Lothian that are simple to take part in. Led by our Conservation Team, our beach cleans aim to be fun and informative for all ages. Anyone and everyone is welcome, whether you litter pick regularly or have never tried it before.

We currently run beach cleans at:

North Berwick
Morrison’s Haven (Prestongrange)
Fisherrow Sands (Musselburgh)

For more info on upcoming events and how to get involved, check out our Events page.

By running these sessions, we hope to open people’s eyes to how much marine rubbish is really out there and to inspire more people to regularly clean up the coastline.

Two people work together to pick up rubbish off the beach, with the Scottish Seaird Centre in the background — No matter your age, you can get involved!

Take Part in Litter Surveys

We can keep cleaning up our beaches—but without changes in legislation made by governments, the amount of litter being allowed to enter the world’s seas will never decrease. That’s why it’s vital to document what we find. By doing this, we can create a database of evidence to take to government and industries showing the extent of the problem, that lots of people care and to encourage progress towards a coordinated solution.

Examples of coastal litter surveys include:

Beachwatch – the Marine Conservation Society’s surveys involve documenting the litter you find along a 100-metre stretch of coastline. They ask you to record the type of litter you find on a simple form alongside the amount of each type to help them track litter back to its source.
Clean Up Scotland – Keep Scotland Beautiful are an environmental charity whose citizen science surveys take place all over Scotland, not just on the coast, as litter that begins its life on land often ends its journey in the sea. When recording, every piece of litter is important!
The Great Global Nurdle Hunt – a citizen science project run by the charity Fidra that aims to raise awareness of plastic pellet (nurdle) pollution and build evidence about this problem globally.

The Scottish Seabird Centre often runs litter survey events in partnership with these organisations. Keep an eye on our Events page for any upcoming sessions. Taking part is easy, fun and contributes valuable data, illustrating coastal pollution on a national and global scale.

A large group of MCS Beach Clean volunteers pose together on North Berwick's West Beach on a sunny day — We're proud to work alongside other charities to help keep our coasts clean

Coastal Cleanups