A new multi-agency working group is needed to tackle litter at Arrochar – especially plastics, a new report has said.
The Argyll and Bute Beach Litter Report, published this week by the GRAB Trust, says it is ‘a reasonable assumption’ that that Arrochar beach has one of the highest levels of plastic and micro plastic pollution in the UK.
It is estimated that 11% of all the litter that lands in the Clyde estuary ends up on the beach at Arrochar on Loch Long.
Six years ago the Scottish Government committed £500,000 to address ‘litter sinks’ in the area but the problem remains, with more than 1,000 tonnes of litter being removed between 2018 and 2022.
The new report states: “Mechanical cleans are controversial, however I doubt many would argue that it is not necessary, after viewing the beach at Arrochar.
“The extent of the degradation of the plastics here and the fact that such large volumes are on the cusp of disintegrating into microplastics which will end up in the food chain must be considered.
“This litter does not come from Arrochar.
“It does not come from Argyll and Bute, and yet Argyll and Bute Council (and therefore residents) pay the landfill tax on the litter removed from the beach here.
“The litter is coming from communities far and wide and ultimately funding to address this problem should be allocated at state level.”
The report calls for renewed funding for mechanical cleans – the previous funding ran out two years ago – as well as a multi-agency working group to develop a longer term plan to address the problem.
More details are in an appendix of the full report here: Argyll_Bute_Beach_Litter_Report_1994-2022
A study published in 2018 by Bill Turrell of Marine Scotland Science analysed the causes of the ‘Arrochar Litter Sink’.
He states that large volumes of dead seaweed, sometimes called ‘wrack’ or ‘ware’ have always accumulated on the foreshore, and it was traditionally used as fertiliser in coastal villages.
Now though around 400m tonnes of plastics are produced globally every year, with up to 5% of this entering the sea though poor waste management.
Dr Turrell’s report adds: “The presence of this plastic waste in our seas means that the ‘ware’ on Arrochar foreshore is now completely mixed with pieces of plastic, from large items like buckets and shoes to almost invisibly small pieces, broken down from larger items such as plastic bags and bottles.
“This mix is now a problem to the local community, not a resource because it cannot be used as fertiliser any longer, and to date there is no known way of separating out the seaweed from the litter.”
He says there are four key factors:
The shape of the Firth of Clyde, which is the result of the glaciers which cut it interacting with local geology.
Prevailing winds: measurements at Prestwick show that the average annual wind blows from the SE/SW sector more than 40% of the year, at an average speed of 12 knots. Dr Turrell estimates that these prevailing winds drive the equivalent of about 3,700 cubic metres of seawater each second into the Firth of Clyde (at the surface).
The Spin of the Earth: Owing to the shape of the Clyde, winds can blow the water at the surface into it from the Irish Sea. Dr Turrell says that water moving on the face of the earth always tries to turn right – in the northern hemisphere – so the wind- blown water entering the Clyde hugs the right hand coast, and will flow past Loch Ryan, past Girvan, Ayr, Troon, Ardrossan and Largs, ending up in the basin outside Loch Long, where it meets the outflow from the River Clyde.
The River Clyde: At the point where the Firth of Clyde turns eastwards, outside Loch Long, freshwater from the river, plus other rivers such as the Leven, White and Black Cart Waters and Kelvin will drive a net flow outwards towards the sea. It is estimated that this flow is about 300 cubic metres of water per second.
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