Record-breaking amount of rubbish collected in Brighton over the weekend
More than 30 tonnes of litter was collected from the beach and seafront
A record-breaking 31 tonnes of rubbish has been removed from the beach and seafront in Brighton over the weekend (17th-18th July)
Brighton and Hove City Council has described it as the biggest and worst two days on record.
Despite teams working constantly from 5am to 9pm each day, the city council says they were still ‘completely overwhelmed’ by the amount of litter being dumped by the mass crowds of tourists and locals who flocked to the seafront.
The previous record for seafront rubbish in one single day was 11 tonnes on 25 June last year.
However, beach cleaning staff say Saturday and Sunday’s collections were even higher both days at 13.6 tonnes and 12.5 tonnes respectively.
Even after a late evening pick up on Sunday, another 5 tonnes had accumulated overnight which was collected on Monday morning (19th July).
Despite repeated calls from the council for people to bin their rubbish responsibly or take it home, councillors say some residents and tourists are still leaving waste on the beach or dumping it beside an already full bin.
"Astonished and furious"
Council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty said:
“I’m astonished and quite frankly furious at the people that create this kind of mess on our beautiful beach and seafront.
“They are quite happy to visit our beach and city, but then have absolutely no respect for it. They should be ashamed.
“They couldn’t care less about the effect they’re having, or the environmental damage they’re creating.
“If these people really can’t find a bin then they should take their rubbish home. Leaving waste on the beach or beside a bin is anti-social and they shouldn’t do it.”
What measures have been put in place?
Cllr Mac Cafferty added:
“Although we’ve put out extra bins, more staff, more vehicles, are carrying out more collections and installed CCTV cameras, the sheer volume of people dumping their rubbish sees our beach overwhelmed.”
Our environmental enforcement officers also patrol the beach and seafront handing out fines and giving people advice on disposing of their litter.
However, one of the main problems in fining people who leave their waste on the beach is catching them. No one leaves litter if the officers are around, but do when they’re not.
This is one of the reasons we’ve installed CCTV cameras on the seafront which will help us catch more people who litter.
Cllr Mac Cafferty said:
“Keeping our beaches and seafront clean, tidy and litter-free is everyone’s responsibility, not just the council’s.
“There are more than 500 bins along the seafront, so there’s absolutely no excuse for leaving litter on the beach or beside an already overflowing bin.”