In anticipation of Christmas, Kerry MacKay runs down a list of the often bizarre items she has seen discarded in the sea
ENVIRONMENT
12 Days of Litter
In anticipation of Christmas, Kerry MacKay runs down a list of the often bizarre items she has seen discarded in the sea
With Christmas fast approaching, many will have the advent calendar poised and ready for the big countdown. I thought I’ d do my own countdown of weird and wonderful litter that has been found on beach cleans and dives.
1 Hawaiian Lei. Starting with a smile for the upcoming celebratory season. These colourful garlands usually bring cheer and fun – not so when washed up on a beach or entangling a sea creature.
2 On the topic of flowers, next is a plastic plant pot, complete with a plastic plant. Plant pots are not an unusual beach litter find, nor are bits of plastic foliage. Not many come as a complete set.
3 Explosive ordnance. Occasionally, large ordnance washes up from deeper down. We dumped vast quantities of ordnance in the deep ocean, thinking it was thrown“ away”. The ocean has slowly been returning it to us, leading to excitement and fear.
4 Ammunition. On a smaller scale, I have also found both live and spent rifle and shotgun ammunition discarded on dives and the beach. The live rounds were reported to the police, who seemed to struggle most with the concept that I found them while scuba diving.
5 Mobile phone case. It’ s a bit of a disaster if you lose your phone. The question for this find is how did we end up with just the case washed up? What’ s the story behind it and what happened to the phone?
6 Band. On the topic of losing something personal, castration bands are commonly used in agriculture. Luckily, we don’ t often find them as litter, but I do wonder if that’ s because farmers collect them all afterwards, or that most people don’ t know what they are so they don’ t get recorded.
7 Toothbrushes. It continues to surprise me how many toothbrushes end up on beaches. How do they get there? I know sewage releases can be a source of such litter, but who’ s flushing all these toothbrushes down the toilet? How does it fit round the U-bend?
8 Neoprene hood. I think we can all guess the story behind this particular item’ s appearance on a beach clean. I have acquired a fair amount dive kit found underwater or washed up on the beach. Tracking down the rightful owner isn’ t always achievable. I’ ve gained a mask, snorkel, several dive knives, weight pouches, and even a dive computer this way.
9 Stainless steel tea urn. I think it was Scapa Flow where I remember stumbling across this particular feature on a dive. I can only assume it was dumped by a boat, but why on earth just lob it over the side in a world-famous dive spot? Surely you’ ve got to realise that thrown‘ away’ isn’ t actually out of sight.
10 Bathroom fittings. I know certain wrecks have an abundance of bathroom fittings. Elsewhere, it can be amusing to find a toilet, bath or sink on the seabed. The porcelain throne that is now home to an edible crab can’ t help but make you smile.
11 Vehicle parts. Everything from a vintage Massey Ferguson tractor to car wing mirrors, brake shoes, and of course the ever-abundant tyres and wheel trims that are a regular find on many of my dives.
12 For the grand finale, a truly festive beach scene- the entire local council Christmas tree was found dumped on the beach complete with the Christmas fairy lights still attached!
What surprised you most, and what’ s the strangest litter you’ ve found on a dive? Merry Christmas folks! �
Clockwise from left: Random bathtub discovery; ammunition; wheel hub; toothbrush; Jolanda toilet
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