Face masks and dog poo bags have been highlighted in a survey of litter along our coastlines.
Coastwatch, which assessed 710 locations across the island, found the number of sites where one or more masks were found has risen to 21 per cent from 18 per cent.
While plastic bags for dog poo are now recorded as a shore litter feature in beach areas, despite not being mentioned five years ago.
“There are more dogs around and it appears that there are many dog owners who use dog poo bags to clean up after their pets but then drop these on the shore,” according to the environmental NGO.
The number of survey sites where one or more face mask was recorded rose to 21 per cent, compared to 18 per cent of surveyed shores in 2020.
On the bright side, there has been a significant drop in marine litter, with a reduction in plastic bottles and drinks cans being found.
“There was a remarkable reduction in marine litter reported, with improvement spread over most litter categories. The percentage of shores where one or more plastic bottle was seen has gone down for the sixth year running. The same has happened for drinks cans,” it confirms.
