The PPE Pandemic - Beach Guardian Emily Stevenson
Emily Gilford speaks with Beach Guardian Emily Stevenson about her beach clean-up endeavours, the impacts of PPE on our environment and what we can do to help.
Illustration by Paige Blake.
Emily Stevenson, Co-Founder of Beach Guardian - © Alex Stevenson, By The Compass
Face masks became mandatory in the UK for those who can wear them on the 24th of July 2020 to help to combat the risk of coronavirus transmission in poorly ventilated indoor spaces. It is now a commonplace to see discarded single-use face masks on pavements, roadsides and close to our waterways. Articles have also been popping up throughout the pandemic of animals such as gulls being caught in abandoned personal protective equipment (PPE). RSPCA noted in a Facebook post in September that they had dealt with 900 incidents of animals being caught in litter since the start of lockdown, including those tangled in the straps of single-use facemasks.
Father and Daughter Duo – Beach Guardian founders Rob and Emily Stevenson. Photo from Beach Guardian.
The best way to make people aware of this issue is through education. Beach Guardian CIC, based in Cornwall UK, is a community interest company founded by the father-daughter team, Rob and Emily Stevenson. The group organises beach cleans and educational workshops to connect people with the environment and inform people about issues including the PPE plight. You can see Emily’s video on PPE Pollution – Unmasked on their Facebook page- a project in collaboration with GreenPeace, which has been awarded ‘Best Super Short Documentary’ at the Sweden Film Awards and the London Arthouse Film Festival. I spoke to Emily Stevenson – founder of Beach Guardian and Conservation Masters student, about how she started the project, the impact of PPE on the environment and what we can do going forward.
“I have been incredibly fortunate to have spent my life exploring the coastline and enjoying the ocean in Cornwall. Every evening after school, we would go to the beach. Every evening after school, we would find plastic on the beach. Plastic pollution has always been there, in all of my most precious childhood memories. It has always stood out to me as out of place, something that shouldn’t be there. Which is what inspired me and my dad to co-found Beach Guardian together.”
Since Beach Guardian was founded in 2017, the CIC has organised over 200 community clean-ups with over 6,000 volunteers, visited more than 85 schools to educate and inspire over 14,000 school pupils and worked with companies like PepsiCo and Nissan to help them reduce their reliance on plastic.
The CIC, based in North Cornwall, has worked with huge companies including PepsiCo on their cleans. Photo from Beach Guardian.
Emily Stevenson talks about the changes on the coastline due to lockdown.
“For me, the beach is an escape, somewhere that I feel peace. But also where I feel my most powerful, where I know I can make a difference. It has always been integral to my own mental health and wellbeing, and I was fortunate enough to have already made that connection when we plummeted into lockdown. As it was the same for many, my daily walks were the one constant that helped me get through such uncertain times.
Whilst out on my daily walks, I continued litter picking. This enabled me to monitor the quantities and changes in the debris we were finding. It was so strange, whenever there were new rules enforced, it was mirrored in the litter that we found. When lockdown began and people stayed inside, the litter stayed away too. When it was mandatory to wear face coverings in shops, we began finding face masks littering the streets. Now, when restrictions are becoming more and more limited, the quantities of PPE in the environment are growing.”
A single-use face covering on the beach. Photo by Beach Guardian on Instagram.
“Unfortunately, we were instructed to wear PPE with no direction or information on the end of life of these products - which is really no one’s fault. There is no road map directing society through a pandemic, and of course, human health and safety is a priority. But now that we know better, we can do better.
PPE pollution is plastic pollution. If these items get into the environment, they will result in the same consequences as other forms of plastic. Entangling wildlife and being mistaken for natural food sources, thus being subsequently ingested. So far, since the beginning of April, we have found over 950 gloves and 275 face masks.”
Photo by Beach Guardian on Instagram.
Since speaking to Emily Stevenson, this number has increased, with the Beach Guardian team noting that they’ve now found over 1000 littered PPE items since March 2020. And this isn’t a temporary problem. Single-use polypropylene masks, if not properly discarded, will continue to worsen the marine litter crisis. They may take up to 450 years to degrade and disappear from the environment if not disposed of appropriately.
Beach Guardian Emily notes “If left in the environment, PPE will be a plight for the planet for centuries. The durability of plastic is incomparable, which is why we must do our best to reduce the loss into the environment and retrieve what we can.”
Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust, based in Truro, introduced the first mask recycling scheme in December 2020, where masks are turned into something more permanent, such as toolboxes and bins. Stevenson adds “It isn’t just down to the NHS, government and big corporations to make changes. People, in their communities, are just as able to instigate positive change. I have every hope and belief that we can turn the tide on PPE waste.”
Emily Stevenson, Co-Founder of Beach Guardian - © Alex Stevenson, By The Compass
So what can we, as individuals and communities, do to help combat plastic pollution?
With regards to PPE, the RSPCA suggests that for those who need to use single-use masks and PPE, to dispose of them appropriately. Snip the straps off of your facemasks to prevent entanglement and harm to wildlife. The UK government has provided resources on how to correctly dispose of any PPE.
Emily Stevenson advises on how we can help with the overarching issue at hand.
Hot topic. Emily Stevenson has spoken to publications such as Daily Mail on Sunday about the PPE pandemic. Photo by Beach Guardian on Instagram.
“The problem with plastic is that it is everywhere. Look around you, the majority of products you see will have at least some component made up of plastic. The clothes you are wearing, will likely contain plastic. From when you wake up to when you go to sleep, you will be using plastic for something. The very thing you go to sleep on will likely contain plastic. It’s the same for everyone on the planet.
But this is also the very reason we can solve the plastic pandemic. Plastic is in all of our lives, and therefore there is something we can all do to tackle it. Every change does make a difference. Every beach clean does make a difference. But the most powerful thing of all, that we are all capable of, is just talking about the planet. Talk about nature and what you love about it. Whether it was a blue tit on your windowsill, a squirrel in a tree or a vibrant weed pushing through the pavement. Appreciate all that you see and share it with someone. Every time we mention the environment and wildlife, we are one step closer to saving it.”
Beach Clean Volunteers at Treyarnon Beach. Photo from Beach Guardian.
To get involved with Beach Guardian’s work including upcoming events and beach cleans, go to their Eventbrite page and website. Keep up to date with Emily Stevenson and the team on the Beach Guardian Facebook page.
Thank you to Emily Stevenson, Beach Guardian, for her time talking to Bloom in Doom, and her expert knowledge and meaningful advice.
And thank you to Paige Blake for her wonderful illustration. You can find more of her work at @ptb_illustration.
Emily Gilford
Emily is a Zoology BSc (Hons) and Ecology MSc graduate from the University of Exeter, currently based in Cornwall. Her interests lie in animal behaviour and blue health. Over the past few years, Emily has managed The Beach Clean Project in Cornwall, connecting people over a mutual love of keeping our coastlines clean. Emily enjoys being out with her camera spotting wildlife and learning as much as she can. Emily is an online article editor and contributor here at Bloom in Doom. Find her on Instagram @emilygilford