Tourism continues to make a welcome contribution to Weston-super-Mare’s economy, with 4.2m day trips and 175,000 overnight stays bringing in some £200m a year in visitor spend (source: BBC News).
Rather less welcome is the litter some visitors leave on Weston’s famous beach. This includes food packaging, plastic toys, cans, glass bottles and disposable barbecues, with dirty nappies and wet wipes also buried in the sand. The problem is made worse by marine debris washed in by the tide, including plastic bags, rope and lost fishing line.
Volunteer days are a great opportunity to give back, to spend time in other communities and have a positive impact.
Each year, Business West encourages its full-time staff to take two paid volunteer days. They can work for a charity or do other good deeds that bring societal or environmental benefits. This has included giving blood/platelets, river cleanups, running village fetes, tree planting and helping at foodbanks. In the past two years, almost 200 Business West staff volunteer days have been logged.
On Friday 11 September, nine Business West staff volunteered to take part in a Marine Conservation Society Beach Clean on Weston-super-Mare’s sands, south of the seafront’s iconic Tropicana building. “Business West volunteers took part in a previous beach-cleaning day, organised by my colleague, Jane Purdy,” explains Karen Cording (better known as KC), who coordinated this year’s litter pick at Weston.
She was joined by Samantha Gardiner, Sophie Varcin, Debs Bertino, Melody Thompson, Andy Waylen, Andrew Mercer, Susie Williams and Teresa Coen. “Volunteer days are a great opportunity to give back, to spend time in other communities and have a positive impact,” KC adds. “They’re also an opportunity for collective action, and that's why I chose to get involved, supporting the Marine Conservation Society, which does vital work.”
We collected six big bags of litter, weighing 20kg – almost 400 items, including 156 bits of small plastic. We collected some rather odd items and pretty ugly data, which we reported to the Marine Conservation Society.
KC continues: “I love the sea – it's my happy place. I spend a lot of time near it and in it, in the UK and overseas. Over the years I've noticed increasing amounts of pollution; I've found it's often worst in places such as Central America and Asia. I've been involved in other beach cleans, because I love the sea and always try to clean up whenever I go.”
Sophie Varcin comments: “It was a great day and we were especially lucky with the weather, because it was sunny. As well as helping to clean up the beach, I enjoyed spending time catching up with colleagues from other Business West teams. It’s always nice to be outdoors and physically active, while working for a good cause.”
Teresa Coen says: “It was a great opportunity to meet up with other ‘Business Westers’, be outside and contribute in a small way to retrieving mostly plastic from the beach.”
At first glimpse, the beach didn't look too bad, recalls KC, but the extent of the problem soon became apparent. “In total, we collected six big bags of litter, weighing 20kg – almost 400 items, including 156 bits of small plastic. We collected some rather odd items and pretty ugly data, which we reported to the Marine Conservation Society. After we’d finished we celebrated with a well-earned ice cream,” she smiles.
Business West’s commitment to the environment and sustainability remains stronger than ever – whether on the beach at Weston-super-Mare or elsewhere.
Business West’s journey to net zero started 15 years ago, when a working group was set up consisting of staff interested in environment and sustainability. In recent years, the organisation has championed low-carbon industries and supported businesses on their journey to sustainability and net zero.
In 2021, Business West became a Certified B Corp. It’s an international accreditation that recognises businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. Business West’s commitment to the environment and sustainability remains stronger than ever – whether on the beach at Weston-super-Mare or elsewhere.
Why not join one of the Marine Conservation Society’s beach clean events? According to the Society: “Whether you’re joining a local clean-up or organising your own event, beach cleaning helps protect our ocean and the wildlife that depends on it. We ask our volunteers to note down all the items they find in a 100m stretch of beach. This data is hugely important, as it helps us track litter back to source, and enables us to campaign for change.” Find out more >>
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