Image description: The torso of a person on the beach holding a plastic bag with litter in it. The person is wearing a grey tshirt, white shorts and plastic gloves. Image by Chaiyan Anuwatmongkolchai from Pixabay

New evidence from the State of our Beaches report by the Marine Conservation Society revealed the amount of plastic waste collected on beaches rose by 9.5% in 2024, compared with 2023, with an average 127 items recorded per 100m.

The charity reported nearly half (46%) of the plastic waste was from public sources – household litter washing its way into our seas via rivers, drainage and sewage outlets, or blown or dropped on to our coastline. However, one item which has decreased is plastic bags. Since the introduction of charges for carrier bags there has been an 88% decrease in them being found on beaches.

More than 15,000 volunteers took part in the data collection, completing 1,200 litter surveys. Across the UK and Channel Islands, volunteers removed more than three-quarters of a million pieces of waste from their beaches, weighing more than 16,800kg.

The charity said their findings illustrate how policy interventions could curb plastic waste, and consumers need to be given more options to buy items in refillable and reusable containers. MCS have welcomed the passing of legislation for Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) in England and Northern Ireland, for which they campaigned. However, global treaty on cutting plastic waste has yet to be completed after fossil fuel countries and industry lobbyists pushed back on cuts to global plastic production.