Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.
A large number of bags filled with chips washed ashore near Beachy Head over the weekend, prompting a cleanup effort led by volunteers. Trisha Barros, who participated in the cleanup, described the scene to BBC Radio Sussex, saying, “just a sea of chips, it was a bit insane.” She noted that the bags extended “as far as the eye can see” and were piled approximately 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) high. Barros and her partner managed to clear several hundred bags on the first day, and after sharing a call for help on social media, more volunteers joined the effort.
Barros, who works as a veterinary nurse, expressed serious worries about the potential harm the chips and their packaging could cause to wildlife in the area. She highlighted the toxic nature of the food waste and plastic bags, saying, “Chips, onions, plastic, all of these are toxic to them.” She further raised concerns that local animals, such as seals, might ingest the clear plastic bags, which could be damaging or fatal.
In addition to the visible piles of chips, debris including a container was also found washed up on the beach at the base of Beachy Head. Trevor Weeks, founding director of East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service, indicated that the biggest environmental threat comes from the potato decomposition affecting water quality. He explained that this can lead to oxygen depletion in water, threatening fish, crustaceans, and other small aquatic creatures, especially in enclosed or tidal pool areas. Weeks added that scavengers consuming the high-starch food might experience gut fermentation with symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration.
These incidents followed the washing ashore of three shipping containers at Seaford earlier that week. According to HM Coastguard, another container was recovered off Littlehampton, West Sussex, along with additional debris near Beachy Head. After aerial surveillance on Friday found no further containers offshore, officials confirmed they are monitoring containers that had previously landed at locations including Selsey, Eastbourne, Newhaven, Rustington, Rottingdean, and Beachy Head. This sequence of events occurred about a month after 16 containers fell from the cargo vessel Baltic Klipper near the Isle of Wight, with additional containers lost during Storm Goretti just days before. East Sussex County Council has advised visitors to the coast to exercise caution and has been coordinating with maritime salvage experts Brand Marine
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.