Newhaven divers in underwater litter pick (From The Argus)

Newhaven divers in underwater litter pick

4:00pm Wednesday 5th September 2012 in News

Newhaven divers in underwater litter pick

The war against litter was taken underwater by some environmentally friendly divers.

A team of 14 divers trawled up a truckload of rubbish during the underwater litter pick on Saturday.

The event which took place off Newhaven netted a variety of debris including a remote control, a bike pedal, sunglasses, rubber gloves and an electrical cable.

Clive Murphy was one of the 14 members who took part in the event. He said: “In just a short time we collected quite a large volume of rubbish. The vast majority of it was plastics.

“We also retrieved a lot of fishing line which not only can be harmful to marine life which become tangled in it but it can also pose a danger to us divers.”

The club’s efforts are part of a joint initiative between the British Sub Aqua Club and Marine Conservation Society to clean up the sea.

Mr Murphy, who is diving officer at Mid Herts Divers, in Welwyn Garden City, added: “With diving clubs across the country also taking part in the BSAC Underwater Litter Pick over the next couple of months, we hope it will make a big difference to the cleanliness of our seas and beaches.”

All the data from the event about the type and how much litter found will be sent to the Marine Conservation Society.

The data can then be used to target areas of concern such as plastics and spot trends in the rubbish in our seas and along our beaches.

The Marine Conservation Society has teamed up with The Argus for a beach clean-up later this month.

Volunteers from the MCS, The Argus and other community groups will join forces on Sunday, September 16, as part of their Big Beachwatch weekend.

As well as clearing as much rubbish as possible, we will be completing a rubbish survey to help identify the different materials people throw away on the beach.

The Arugus Take It Home campaign has been highlighting the damage littering can do to the environment. Brighton and Hove City Council collected 42 tonnes of rubbish last weekend from the seafront and city centre.

If you would like to join the clean-up, email peter.truman@the argus.co.uk or call 01273 544525.