Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Popular public beach clean box project expands in Aberdeenshire

Litter-picker Susan Tait, left, and staff at the Macduff aquarium, right, with their new beach clean boxes.
Litter-picker Susan Tait, left, and staff at the Macduff aquarium, right, with their new beach clean boxes.

A beach clean project that empowers the public to clean up our coasts has expanded to three new Aberdeenshire locations.

The Take 4 for the Shore initiative asks people to pick up at least four items of litter while walking along our beautiful seaside destinations in the north-east.

Volunteers can take advantage of freely accessible ‘beach boxes’, which contain everything you need for clean-ups including gloves, bin bags, and litter-picking tools.

The boxes are looked after by local communities and businesses, and have been in place since late 2020 in Fraserburgh, Collieston, Balmedie, Stonehaven, East Haven, and Greyhope Bay in Aberdeen.

Beaches across the UK are plagued by marine litter like this.

And now, three more beach boxes have been established at Blackdog Beach, Cairnbulg Harbour, and Macduff Marine Aquarium.

Beach clean boxes make it ‘easier than ever’ to tackle marine litter

Workers at Wood RecyclAbility in Pitmedden with one of the beach boxes.

The boxes have been built by the Wood RecyclAbility organisation in Pitmedden, a social enterprise that provides work experience for people with additional support needs.

Marie Dare, learning officer at the Macduff aquarium, said they are “thrilled” to be looking after one of the three new boxes, and says it will make it “easier than ever before for people to get involved and take action against marine litter”.

Marie Dare, left, and Chris from the Macduff aquarium with their new beach box.

She said: “A mini beach clean is a great way to prevent plastics and other litter from harming our coastal animals and their habitats, and we hope that it will be widely used by visitors to the area and local residents alike”.

The boxes even contain gloves to fit children, so youngsters of all ages can take part and do their bit to keep our seas free of rubbish.

In Blackdog, the local resident’s association will use the box to help support litter-picks throughout the year, complimenting their commitment to do one planned volunteer litter-pick a month.

Blackdog residents posing with their brand new beach box.

Why was Take 4 for the Shore launched?

The Take 4 for the Shore scheme was established in late 2020, partially in response to major littering incidents across our beaches following the easing of Covid restrictions.

It was also created in response to the growing number of individuals and groups popping up who were keen to get more actively involved in carrying out beach cleans across Aberdeenshire.

It is part of the wider Turning the Plastic Tide project, which aims to encourage the public to take care of our coastlines in the north-east.

Lauren Smith, with her dog Tattie, on a beach clean.

Lauren Smith, project manager at Turning the Plastic Tide, said she hopes the beach boxes and Take 4 for the Shore will help to ensure our beaches are kept clean and safe for the benefit of both humans and the environment.

She said: “We are delighted to be able to deliver these beach cleaning stations to the communities who are committed to improving their coastal environment.

“Regular, small beach cleans help keep habitats litter-free and raise awareness about the litter issues around our coastline.”

You may also like to read:

Conversation