Amount of litter on UK beaches is falling, national clean-up finds

But 75% of waste is still plastic or polystyrene and piecemeal' government approach not good enough, say campaigners

The amount of waste washing up on the UK's beaches is falling year by year, according to the results of the 2021 Great British Beach Clean, organised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

Volunteers found 385 pieces of litter for every 100 metres of beach on average, down from 425 in 2020 and 558 in 2019. Single-use plastic bags have fallen from a high of 13 for every 100 metres in 2013 to just three in 2021. The plastic bag charge introduced in 2015 has cut their use in supermarkets by 95%.