Volunteers examined 269 British beaches and found a piece of litter every 50cm, showing beach rubbish has increased 82% over the last 10 years. Plastic makes up most of the litter and can harm marine life by being eaten or animals getting tangled in plastic like bags and nets. Plastic is especially harmful to the environment as it takes a long time to break down.

1. Sea pollution

2. A massive survey of Britain’s
beaches has shown they are
covered in more rubbish than
ever before.

3. More than 3,000 volunteers
examined 269 beaches and
found a piece of litter every
50cm along the coastline.

4. The survey found the amount
of rubbish found on
the beaches has gone up by
82% over the last 10 years.

5. The Marine Conservation Society ‘s
Beachwatch 2004 Report also
discovered most of the rubbish was
plastic, which can harm marine life.

6. Every year thousands of
animals are thought to die
because they eat or get
tangled up in plastic litter
like nets and bags.

7. And plastic is especially
harmful to the environment
because it takes a long time
to break down.

8. Questions
1. How many beaches were examined ?
2. How frequently did the volunteers find litter ?
3. How does the amount of beach rubbish now,
compare to the amount 10 years ago.
4. How does plastic litter harm marine life ?
5. What should you do with your litter ?