New scheme to encourage litterbugs to keep Brighton beaches clean

There will be four ‘stations’ placed along the seafront, with litter pickers and plastic bags for visitors to clean up their rubbish.

They can then post a picture of themselves on social media with the #2minutebeachclean hashtag.

Seafront officer Charles Branson said: “Growing up on the beaches of Cornwall, I have had it instilled in me to care for the coastal environment, and I find it quite upsetting to see the state the beaches of Brighton and Hove after a sunny weekend.

“The city has so many passionate, environmentally conscious local people but sadly there are many more who aren’t so diligent and are unaware of the potential harm to other beach users, marine wildlife and the environment.

“We hope #2minutebeachclean may go some way in reducing the impact of our annual summer beach litter crisis and that we as a city can provide more stations as the summer progresses.”

The council described the clean up after a sunny weekend as ‘a mammoth task’ costing the city’s taxpayers thousands of pounds in cleaning costs.

With this in mind, Brighton and Hove City Council’s seafront team joined the #2minutebeachclean campaign, with the help of local businesses.

The initiative was launched on Monday (June 5) to mark World Environment Day.

Three of the litter starions on the seafront have been funded in a joint initiative by the council, Surfers Against Sewage and local sustainable design studio Claire Potter Design.

They can be found at the Seafront Office, the World Cetacean Alliance (just east of the Palace Pier) and Molly’s Coffee shop at Rottingdean Beach.

The fourth station is near the British Airways i360, where staff are set to encourage people to keep the beach tidy.

A British Airways i360 spokesperson said: “We are proud to be joining forces with other seafront businesses to participate in the #2minutebeachclean campaign, as part of our shared ambition to care for the natural landscape around us.”

The #2minutebeachclean campaign was founded in 2014 by writer, surfer and beach lover Martin Dorey who lives in Bude, Cornwall.

“After 20 years living in the South West of the UK I was able to see just how bad the marine litter problem is becoming,” says Martin.

“I wanted to do something to make a genuine difference and hoped that the #2minutebeachclean might inspire others to join environmental groups, join in with organised cleans and make beach cleaning part of their daily routine.”

The first beach clean station was set up at Crooklets beach in Bude. Since then more than 200 beach clean stations have been set up across the UK and Ireland.

Local businesses interested in becoming a guardian or sponsoring a #2minutebeachclean station can contact Mr Branson at the Seafront Office on 01273 292716.