One of the best things about litter picking is that you never really know what you’re going to find. At Life’s a Beach, we’ve picked up litter in all sorts of places this year, and some of the things we’ve come across have been pretty unexpected. Alongside the usual plastic bottles, crisp packets and food wrappers, our volunteers have found everything from socks to a whole car bumper. We’ve even managed to haul an enormous 85kg tyre out of the environment!
So, we thought we’d share some of our most memorable finds from the year. Some are fascinating, some are a little baffling, and others really make you wonder how on earth they got there in the first place.
Socks. Lots and lots of socks.
We don’t know what it is about socks, but we seem to find them everywhere! We’ve collected countless socks, crocs, sandals and water shoes on our cleans this year, and we’re still wondering where they all came from. Did they fall out of someone’s washing basket? Were they lost along the way? Or is there a much bigger mystery at play? We’ll probably never know, but one thing’s for sure: socks seem to be a surprisingly common sight on our litter picks!
Shark, ray and skate egg cases
Not everything we find is litter, of course. Some of our favourite discoveries this year have been shark, ray and skate egg cases, which are always exciting to come across. Working with the Sharks Trust we always have an eye out for these mermaid’s purses.
These little cases can wash up on the shoreline and give us a glimpse of the marine life living beneath the waves. It’s a lovely reminder that our beaches are home to so much more than sand and sea, and that there’s plenty of wildlife worth protecting. We always love finding opportunities to learn more about the creatures sharing our coastlines, and these discoveries are a brilliant example of how a beach clean can turn into something more than just picking up rubbish.
Microplastics everywhere
Unfortunately, one of our most common finds this year has been microplastics. These tiny fragments can be incredibly difficult to spot, let alone collect, especially when they’re mixed in with sand, stones and other debris.
It’s easy to overlook something so small, but microplastics are a big part of the litter problem. Larger plastic items can break down into smaller and smaller pieces over time, making them much harder to remove from the environment. That’s why picking up litter before it has the chance to break apart is so important. Every piece we collect is one less piece left behind.
The 85kg tyre!
Now for one of our heaviest finds of the year: an enormous tyre weighing a whopping 85kg!
That’s a lot of tyre to come across on a litter pick, and certainly not something you can casually pop into your rubbish bag. It took some serious effort to dig out of the sand and lug across the sand, but getting items like this out of the environment makes all that hard work worthwhile.
It’s also a pretty stark reminder that litter isn’t always something small that can be easily carried away. Sometimes, the things we find are much bigger than we ever expected.
A whole car bumper and a ridiculous number of hub caps
As if the tyre wasn’t enough, we’ve also found a whole front bumper and plenty of hub caps this year. We’re beginning to wonder whether we should be adding car parts to our usual litter-picking checklist!
Alongside these, we’ve come across all sorts of other vehicle parts scattered around the places we’ve cleaned. It’s difficult not to wonder how they ended up there, but it goes to show that litter pollution can take many different forms.
It’s not just bottles, wrappers and plastic bags. Sometimes, it’s an entire piece of a car.
CDs, vacuum cleaner parts and all sorts of other oddities
We’ve also collected CDs, bits of vacuum cleaners, machine parts, toys and plenty of other things that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find outside.
Some of these discoveries leave us scratching our heads. Others make us wonder what the story behind them might be. How does a vacuum cleaner part end up on a beach? Who lost that toy? Why has a CD washed up? We don’t always have the answers, but we certainly never run out of things to talk about after a clean!
So, what have we learnt?
Looking back at our finds this year, one thing is clear: litter pollution is about so much more than the odd plastic bottle or crisp packet. From tiny pieces of microplastic to an 85kg tyre, we’ve seen first-hand just how much rubbish can end up in the environment. And while some of our discoveries have made us laugh or left us completely baffled, they’re also a reminder of why the work we do matters.
Every litter pick helps remove rubbish from the places we love, protects wildlife and encourages more people to think about the waste they leave behind. Of course, we couldn’t do any of this without our brilliant volunteers. Whether you’re joining us for your first clean or you’ve been picking up litter with us for years, every pair of hands makes a difference.
Fancy joining us for a litter pick?
We’d love to have you along! Whether you’re an individual, part of a community group, a school, or looking to organise a team volunteering day for your workplace, there’s a way to get involved.
Get in touch at hello@lifesabeach.org to find out more. Keep an eye out for our next update, because if this year has taught us anything, it’s that you really never know what you’ll find on a litter pick!
