Guernsey's marine litter problem to be raised with UN agency

Thursday, 2 May 2024 09:42

Guernsey marine biologist Richard Lord intends to draw the problem of plastic waste to the attention of the International Maritime Organisation.

Richard Lord says the Bailiwick's proximity to the busy Channel shipping lanes means that a lot of plastic waste ends up on our beaches:

"We're at the entrance to the English Channel pretty much and we have hundreds of vessels passing us each day, and somewhere along their route, some of them, not all of them, are throwing litter overboard."

He's spoken with a Dutch company that manages shipping waste and calculates that 8% of global fleets are throwing waste overboard.

The marine biologist and photographer has been collaborating with a number of beachcombing volunteers to remove plastic waste, like water bottles and food wrappers, from the shore.

He then logs it and stores it at his home.

He has collected many thousands of items:

"There's two types of shipping litter. There's litter from merchant ships and litter from fishing boats. You can generally tell them apart because litter from fishing vessels tends to be regional."

He says Guernsey is a 'hot spot' for maritime waste and he has plans to go to the UN's International Maritime Organisation in London in late summer to present evidence on the amount that washes up and to try to put a stop to it, both locally and globally:

"It's illegal to dump plastic litter at sea and has been for decades.150 countries have signed the Convention, and those ships that are flagged in those nations should abide by the Convention."