#LoveYourBeach - pictured left to right on Deal Pier are DDC Cabinet Members Cllr Jamie Pout and Cllr Edward Biggs, Andrzej Kluczynski from DDC Environmental Protection, and Leader of DDC, Cllr Kevin Mills
Dover District Council and Folkestone & Hythe District Council are working together on a summer campaign to reduce the amount of litter left behind on our local beaches this holiday season.
The councils are also going to be highlighting the importance of water safety as they anticipate a busy few weeks along the coast once the districts’ schools have broken up for the summer.
From 24 to 30 July, you will see teams from both councils working alongside their waste management and street cleansing contractor, Veolia, to raise awareness of good local beach etiquette.
The messages they will emphasise include:
- Encouraging beach goers to do the right thing and put their litter in the bin, or take it home with them if bins are full
- Raising awareness of the negative impact discarded litter has on visitors, pets, wildlife and the environment
- Being mindful of water and sun safety while playing or swimming in the sea.
With a fun theme of ‘carefree days at the seaside’ there will be various activities taking place at both Deal beach and Sunny Sands beach in Folkestone, supported by the councils’ community and environmental protection teams.
Two traditional seaside ‘face-in-the-hole’ boards will be sure to please both our younger and older visitors. They will encourage plenty of fun photo sharing and serve as a reminder for seaside guests to only leave their footprints behind in the sand (or in the pebbles!) #loveyourbeach
Community Development and Environmental Crime Officers will be there with information, interactive games and give aways. They will also take the lead on organised community litter picks across the week, encouraging beach users to join in, and conveying the important message that our beaches need to be kept litter-free for everyone to enjoy.
Cllr Edward Biggs, Cabinet member for Environment at Dover District Council, said: “We love to see both our residents and visitors safely enjoying themselves at the district’s beaches. It is a free space for us all to relax, and there’s no better way to create treasured family memories. We also want to ensure that no litter is left behind to protect sea life and keep our district’s beaches looking pristine.”
Cllr Stephen Scoffham – Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Bio Diversity – said: “We hope that by joining forces with our partners and using our combined efforts we will drive home the message that rubbish left behind after a day on the beach is not only unsightly but is damaging for the environment, wildlife and our coastal waters.
“We are pleased that the message will be supported with fun activities so that our beaches stay beautiful and litter free.”
David Fitzgerald, General Manager – Municipal South East at Veolia UK, said: “At Veolia, we are proud to work in partnership with Dover and Folkestone & Hythe District councils to raise awareness and encourage everyone to use the litter bins provided or recycle their litter at home. During the summer months, our team provides additional resources so please support us to keep the seafront free from litter for residents and visitors to enjoy. With everyone's help, we can stop litter reaching the sea in line with our commitment to ecological transformation.”
Notes to editors
Littering is a constant strain on local authority budgets and Keep Britain Tidy estimates that it costs nearly £1 billion of UK taxes to pick litter up each year (Source: www.keepbritaintidy.org)
Fixed Penalty Notices can be issued to anyone caught littering. For more information, visit www.dover.gov.uk/litter or https://www.folkestone-hythe.gov.uk/environmental-protection/dontmessitup-campaign
About Veolia
Veolia Group aims to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present on five continents with nearly 220,000 employees, the Group designs and deploys useful, practical solutions for the management of water, waste and energy that are contributing to a radical turnaround of the current situation. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, to preserve available resources and to renew them. In 2022, the Veolia group provided 111 million inhabitants with drinking water and 97 million with sanitation, produced 44 terawatt hours of energy and recovered 61 million tonnes of waste.
Posted on 24 July 2023