An army of Essex & Suffolk Water volunteers have blitzed the Southend-on-Sea coastline collecting countless bags of rubbish and uncovering some strange items buried across the area’s seafront.
Several teams of volunteers from across the water company rolled their sleeves up to muck in, as part of the company’s employee volunteering scheme, Just an Hour - to help reduce the amount of litter entering our seas.
Jubilee decorations and socks were just some of the strange items collected, with the majority of litter being plastic bottle lids, wet wipes, chip forks and cigarette butts.
The huge community effort took place in support of World Oceans Day on Wednesday, June 8 and was supported by the water company’s partners Southend-on-Sea City Council and Essex Wildlife Trust.
Sean Kirrane, Leakage Technician for Essex & Suffolk Water and organiser of the Southend beach clean, said: “What an amazing turn-out by our people and it was even better that we could team up with Essex Wildlife Trust to help make an even bigger impact. We are really proud to support our local communities, through our employee volunteering scheme, Just an Hour, and help improve the environment in this way.
“Plastic not only litters our coastline and is harmful to wildlife, but it can also have a damaging effect on the quality of our bathing waters. It’s important we all play our part in protecting it and we can do that by putting rubbish in a bin or taking it home, as well as using water wisely in our day-to-day lives.”
Tony Little, Community Parks Officer at Southend-on-Sea City Council, added; “We were proud to work in partnership with Essex & Suffolk Water and support the huge volunteer effort for the greater good – and playing our part in helping to make a difference to our coastal habitats.”
For more information on how Essex & Suffolk Water supports local communities and to request volunteer support, visit the ‘Responsibility’ section of www.nwg.co.uk