#2 Villain of the Beach Clean Ups

Caz Tomisson

Caz Tomisson

Dedicated volunteer and secret super hero.

Cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles have been grouped together because they’re often found simultaneously. They’re more of a problem on the rocks, than on the beach itself – although we do find them on the sand as well!

We will, we will, clean your rocks! 

Every Saturday our Beach Clean Initiative rock warriors head to the rocks, armed with their reach grabber – yes, this is the name of the stick with pincers at the end to pick up rubbish, we googled it! During the summer months, “Team Rock” rush back to the meeting point with their bags full before the hour is up. They take another empty one to continue on with their task. These brave and energetic rock-stars often find themselves in acrobatic positions, not far from stunts made by contortionists as they stretch, bend and twist to collect rubbish caught in the rocks.

As this week it’s a group of rubbish, we feel it’s only fair to compare them to a group of villains. With this in mind, TEAM ROCK’s main villains can be no other than the Crime Syndicate of America – or Spain in this case! These supervillains were created in a parallel universe where the reverse of reality occurs. Does this mean that their beaches are clean? Maybe this is why they can cause havoc because they do not need to spend time cleaning their beaches! The Crime Syndicate of America consists of an evil version of some of the better known superheroes. This group of characters have been unleashed to cause chaos for the Justice League, and this is certainly what this rubbish does to our rock-ers. 

These waste products, whilst found together, cause their own separate problems to marine life. This is the same for the Crime Syndicate of America, who are a joined force of evil, but also cause their own crimes. 

Keep reading to find out who they are individually:

Plastic Bottles 

Plastic bottles definitely mimic qualities of Johnny Quick. Johnny Quick, like his alter ego the Flash, is super quick. As plastic bottles are light-weight, the wind often rolls them into cracks in the rocks or blows them into the sea. During a storm you can see them blowing around at such speed, it is very hard to catch them. However, whilst fast getting to the sea, they have a slow decomposition meaning they will continue to cause harm for hundreds of years. The reality of this is that they often get eroded by the tide or just simply degrade and get swallowed by creatures in the ocean. The only way to stop this is to throw them into the yellow recycling bins.

Aluminium Cans: 

The evil counterpart of Green Lantern is the Power Ring, who has evil powers thanks to a ring. The opening acts similar to a ring and has been known to trap wildlife. The pull-tap, pop-top or “thing that opens the can”, can also be swallowed by marine life. Both the opening and the pull-top act as an evil ring, killing their prey. Aluminium degrades at a slow rate, and releases a toxin that reduces the amount of oxygen around it.

The good thing about aluminium is that it is 100% recyclable and can be reused many times! Something to think about when selecting your beach beverage. Please note that it is not recyclable by mother nature. Although not plastic, it needs to join its evil friend the plastic bottle in the yellow recycling bins.

Glass Bottles: 

Our message in a bottle would be “please throw glass bottles in the green recycling bins”. To be completely honest with you, the majority of the glass bottles are empty beer bottles or wine bottles. Superwoman is the evil counterpart of Wonder woman. Her lasso has the ability to humiliate its victims by forcing them to divulge deep dark secrets. Sound familiar? This sounds a lot like the effects of alcohol. It is possible that once hypnotised by these effects, its owner forgets to put it away in the bin when they leave. Once left on the beach, glass (which is actually made from sand) takes a long time to decompose – we mean years and years and years! When it enters the sea, its impact will last the sands of time. As it is breakable with strong tides, particularly along shore lines with cliff edges and rocks, the sharp edges could harm marine life and even human life.

As you can see, these three beach villains work together to cause tremendous damage to the beaches and seas. Please remember to take these with you when you leave the beach and recycle them in the correct bin.