Ocean pollution
Pollution has been reported to be one of the five main drivers of the current biodiversity crisis, threatening 40% of marine mammals with extinction.
Our ocean may appear vast but our devastating human footprint is found everywhere, with plastic found in the deepest ocean and your local beach.
Marine pollution is diverse, from tiny fibres which shed from clothes, to chemicals washed down the sink. Pollutants, including plastic, chemicals and bacteria travel from our towns and cities to our seas, as well as from activities directly in our ocean.
If we don’t tackle pollution at source, these highly persistent chemicals and plastics will continue to increase in our ocean causing untold damage. That's where we come in.
Deposit Return Scheme
Drinks litter is one of the most commonly found items on our beaches. We are calling for Deposit Return Schemes to be urgently introduced.
Microplastics
Microplastics are bits of plastic less than 5mm in size. They’ve been found everywhere from beaches to the deepest parts of the ocean.
Chemicals
Chemical pollutants end up in the ocean either directly, via marine activities, or leak into rivers and other waterways on land and are carried out to sea.
Wet wipes
Wet wipes are one of the most common litter items we find on UK beaches.
Single-use plastics
Our seas are currently facing twin climate and biodiversity crises, partly fuelled by the single-use plastic problem.
Cigarette butts
Cigarette butts are one of the most visible and prevalent forms of litter...
Water quality
For more than 30 years we have campaigned for better water quality at our coast.
Publications
In this section you will find links to papers, publications and important documents related to our Clean Seas area of work.
