As the evenings stretch a little longer and the warmth of the sun begins to return, it finally feels like we can shake off the grip of winter and look ahead to a busy and exciting summer season.
Our west coast cleans are always a highlight of the year. Over the past few years, we’ve worked hard to build strong relationships with local groups and communities, while developing a deeper understanding of the unique challenges they face. These areas are often on the front line of plastic pollution, with vast quantities of waste washing in from the Atlantic. The most heavily affected locations tend to be the hardest to reach, remote, sparsely populated, and often lacking the time and resources needed to tackle a problem they didn’t create but are left to deal with.
While many people see the incredible volunteer-led beach cleans happening across Scotland, what often goes unseen is the level of planning required for our west coast efforts. These cleans can take weeks to organise, coordinating volunteers, arranging accommodation for those staying multiple days, transporting people and equipment, booking ferries, securing permissions from landowners, and working closely with local authorities. Most importantly, everything we do is rooted in collaboration with local communities. This is never about simply arriving and clearing a beach, it’s about working together.
This year, we’re returning to Skye, where we’ll once again collaborate with Skye Beach Cleans, the Scottish Islands Federation, and the Ocean Recovery Project. Alongside removing as much waste as possible, we’ll also contribute to a wider initiative focused on recycling a portion of the collected materials, something that proved incredibly successful last year thanks to the combined efforts of multiple organisations.
In June, we’ll head back to the Isle of Ulva for the fifth-year running. This island holds a special place in our hearts as the location of our first major clean-up. Since then, we’ve removed nearly 20,000kg of waste from its shores, much of its plastic pollution carried in by storms from the Atlantic. It’s a powerful reminder that the issue extends far beyond local responsibility.
July will see us return to Skye, revisiting a stretch of coastline we know well and where significant volumes of waste have already been cleared. It’s also the site of an incredible effort in 2023, when just four people completed a 24-hour beach clean and removed 4,000kg of rubbish.
In August, we’ll once again support Caledonian Horticulture with recycling efforts at our favourite festival, Fringe by the Sea. This event continues to be a fantastic example of what’s possible when sustainability is prioritised. With careful waste sorting and effective recycling streams, the amount of non-recyclable material sent to energy-from-waste facilities has been kept to a minimum. Last year also saw the introduction of a reusable cup scheme, with all profits supporting Scottish coastal clean-up efforts.
Alongside these larger projects, we have cleans planned for Luing and Lismore, and of course, we’ll continue our regular work closer to home in East Lothian.
Everything we do is shaped by the funding available to us, and we are always looking for ways to grow and increase the impact of our work in the months and years ahead. If you would like to support the work we do and see more behind-the-scenes content from our projects, please consider joining us on Patreon.