The Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean, which ran from September 19–28 and covered 97 miles of UK and Channel Islands coastline, saw 3,516kg of litter collected (including a wedding ring), but it is largely the ‘retro rubbish’ that has made headlines, as the 6,482 volunteers unearthed waste discarded decades ago.
Aged items among the 232,229 pieces of litter recorded during the initiative supported by Holiday Cottages included a 3p Golden Wonder crisp packet from the 1970s and a late-1990s McDonald’s BBQ dip packet.
Clare Trotman, beachwatch officer at the society, says: ‘It’s easy to feel nostalgic about old brands and logos, but these items should never have lasted this long. Finding packaging from decades ago shows why tackling single-use plastic at the source is vital.’
The charity publishes a State of our Beaches report annually, and last year’s showed that nine of the top 10 litter items were made of plastic. Next year’s report will be published in March.
Visit the Marine Conservation Society's website for more details.
This feature originally appeared in the November 5, 2025 issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.
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