Over 800 million tonnes of plastic makes its way into our oceans every year! Plastic bags, nets, bottles, and more are damaging ocean environments and the creatures that live there. So, before you take your next dip in the ocean or start building sandcastles, can you spare two minutes to make a difference?
We’re challenging you to take part in a tiny beach clean with a massive impact. It will only take 2 minutes – welcome to the #2MinuteBeachClean phenomenon.
What is it?
Set up in 2009, the #2MinuteBeachClean is a not-for-profit organisation that helps to encourage beach cleaning and keeping our beaches and oceans healthy. Hundreds of beach-clean boards have been placed all over the UK to encourage beach visitors to take part in the #2MinuteBeachClean project.
The boards are equipped with litter-pickers and rubbish bags. Beach goers are challenged to take a mere two minutes out of their beach days to see how much rubbish they can collect. They’re then encouraged to take a snap of what they’ve collected, to share it on social media using the hashtag, and help promote awareness of the project.
How do you do it?
It’s simple: pick it, snap it, recycle it, reuse it, or bin it.
When enjoying your next trip to the beach, take a look around to see if there’s anything on the shore that shouldn’t be there. You can make a big difference by collecting dangerous rubbish and keeping it away from the oceans and its creatures. Removing rubbish from beaches and shorelines has a huge benefit on ocean life, so if you have time, why not give us (and them) a helping hand in keeping their homes tidy and safe from plastic and rubbish.
You can also help by being mindful of what you’re taking to the beach. Are you using single-use plastic products? Make sure they’re recycled and not left on the beach to drift into our waters. We have plenty of conservation tips to help you be more active in protecting our beaches and oceans.
Where is your nearest #2MinuteBeachClean board?
You can do a #2MinuteBeachClean anywhere! Just remember to take a bag for rubbish, and to wear gloves or use a litter picker to protect your hands from anything sharp, rusty, or dirty.
If you want to take part in an official #2MinuteBeachClean, there’s one just a 20-minute drive from Blue Planet Aquarium, at Thurstaston. There are others located around the UK shorelines, so there’s ‘shore’ to be one within driving distance, wherever you are!
If you’d like to be involved in a #2MinuteBeachClean (of course you do!) then you can learn more about their work here: https://beachclean.net/.
Remember, there doesn’t need to be aboard to help clean our beaches. Don’t forget to show us what you find on the shores on Facebook and Twitter.