The annual Bower Beach Clean event returned bigger and better this year! We joined forces with our friends at Bramley and Sprigster down at Charmouth beach in Dorset to collect litter - and have a lot of fun in the process.
How did we do it?
We worked with our charity partners, the Marine Conservation Society, using their beach clean survey, to record all the items of litter that we found along a 100m stretch of beach. Collecting the data in this thorough way is vital to create lasting change.
The data is used to inform our government on the issue of litter, to help form policies that prevent it from reaching the natural environment. For example, some of the environmental policies brought about with beach clean data include the plastic bag charge, banning microplastics in personal care products, better wet wipe labelling, and supporting a tax on single-use plastic items.
What did we find?
We found a whopping 441 items of litter on the 100m stretch of Charmouth beach. Unsurprisingly, 90% of the litter was plastic. Items ranged from bottle lids, to polystyrene, crisp packets to string.
We also found a huge number of nurdles, tiny plastic pellets which are the building blocks for virtually all plastic products.
Shockingly, we found that pieces of plastic, including polystyrene and straws, were embedded in the banks of the beach to become a part of the landscape.
Ending on a high
Having collected over 10kg of litter from the beach, we ended with a well-deserved mocktail from Sprigster and a delicious lunch, followed by a dip in the sea! 
All in all it was a fabulous day as it really brought us all together to celebrate our mission at Bower to tackle plastic waste and leave a better planet behind us!
If you would like to get involved in our next Bower Beach Clean in 2023, please get in touch via hello@bowercollective.com.