A Pink Tide at Poldhu

You’ll have seen it on the TV, read about it in the papers, heard it on the radio or perhaps you’ve been down at Poldhu, Gunwalloe and elsewhere and helped us to recover some of the thousands of pink bottles of Vanish stain remover from our beaches.

It’s been a great effort by everyone concerned; our staff have dropped everything and turned out to help the growing number of volunteers, particularly from the Friends of Poldhu, to remove the bottles that have washed in day after day. We’re expecting this to continue for some time, there are probably still many thousands out there and some will be hiding in inaccessible beaches in the area.

We know now that a container, lost off a ship some 20 miles off Lands End, has found its way here and is probably lying just offshore from Poldhu, releasing its gaudy pink cargo onto the shore.   We’re working closely with other agencies to co-ordinate the effort of disposing of this cargo and we’re in regular contact with the company behind Vanish stain remover.

It’s a very visible reminder of the problem of plastics at sea and the action that needs to be done to prevent this scourge on our marine environment. Plastic litter has increased 140% on our beaches since 1994, coming from shipping, fishing, sewage systems and from the land and we need to press for changes in the way we deal with land and marine litter. It comes from many sources but it’s all preventable.

In the meantime we’re really grateful for all the support we’ve received over the past week, from volunteer effort, organisational help or messages of support. Thank you very much for that. Keep an eye on our Facebook pages for regular updates on what is happening on our shores.

Alastair Cameron.