Orkney events announced for Great British Beach Clean

Two beach cleans have been planned for locations in Orkney, as part of this year’s Great British Beach Clean.

Beach cleans have been planned, by Scottish Sea Farms, for Echna Loch Bay, Burray, and for Weyland Bay, on the outskirts of Kirkwall. Both will take place on Friday, September 14, both beginning at 8am and running until 10am.

Kirsty Brown, Scottish Sea Farms’ regulatory compliance coordinator for Orkney and organiser of the beach cleans, said: “Protecting the local environments in which we live and work is part and parcel of our everyday roles at Scottish Sea Farms. With these beach cleans we’re taking that commitment one step further, helping sweep our shorelines for litter and collate vital local data that will be fed back to the Marine Conservation Society.”

“The results from previous years’ Great British Beach Cleans are thought to have been instrumental in bringing about environmental legislation such as the plastic bag charge and banning of microplastics in personal care products, so the more local faces that join in, the bigger the potential difference we can all make.”

The Great British Beach Clean is organised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and takes place annually in September.

Scottish Sea Farms are looking for volunteers to take part in their effort.

They have asked anyone planning to join in to should register, via https://www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/events/gbbc, and should wear appropriate clothing with pickers, gloves and bags to be provided.

The meeting point of the Echna Loch Bay event, will be at lay-by on the road next to the bay, down the hill from the fossil centre, and the meeting point for the Weyland Bay event will be at the lay-by opposite the sewage treatment works on Carness Road.