The Scottish shoreline got a hammering during Storm Eowyn, but it wasn’t just waves arriving on the coastline.
So why is a beach in Scotland receiving higher volumes of waste than any other location in the area?
The area in question is at the northern tip of Loch Long, tucked away on the north side of the Clyde.
It is a long narrow loch, but the plastic waste seems to be deposited right at the top.
From a glance at a few charts, I could see a couple of potential reasons.
Firstly it is close to the Clyde which flows from Glasgow, carrying all the rubbish from the river, plus with access to the Irish Sea any waste from open ocean could enter the Loch.
Now, the orientation of the Loch is interesting.
The orientation is southwest, so prevailing winds would push material up the Loch.
With the recent storms we experienced, it is not uncommon for more rubbish to be pushed onto the shore.
Now there has to be a big focus on reducing plastic entering the ocean in the first place.
But these areas might be beneficial to organisations whose mission it is to remove plastic from the ocean.
Removing plastic that naturally accumulates in areas is more efficient in my view, as there is more waste to remove and you know where to find it.
The big example is the Pacific Garbage Patch, where charities are raising money to remove tonnes of rubbish from this specific area using specially designed ships.
So in summary, prevention must be the key, however with the situation at hand these areas can be taken advantage of.
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