LifeGate PlasticLess Reaches the UK, the First Rubbish Bin of the Sea Installed Thanks to Whirlpool

By Mara Budgen
Jun 5, 2019 10:15 AM ET

Originally published on LifeGate.com

It isn’t known exactly how long the coast of the United Kingdom is. The main island of Great Britain alone is estimated to have around 18,000 kilometres of coastline, according to the national mapping agency. If the largest of the other islands are also factored in, this increases to over 31,000. Distances that are difficult to visualise but give an indication of how much coastal environments are an integral part of this country’s geography, and therefore society. A nation that, like many others, is experiencing the brunt of the plastic pollution emergency affecting waterways and seas: an average of 5,000 objects of plastic waste have been found in the UK per mile (1.6 kilometres) of beach.

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