THERE aren’t many occasions in the UK where temperatures hit over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, so you can forgive people enjoying the sunshine at the beach.

However, the aftermath of hundreds of thousands of people visiting the South Coast during the most recent heatwave has angered locals as tons of rubbish were dumped on Bournemouth Beach.

This comes after the BCP Council have recently

declared a ‘Climate Emergency’ and has ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2030

.

Imogen Charleston, who manages Plastic Free Bournemouth, a social movement dedicated to raising awareness of plastic pollution, said “The amount of litter left is shocking, and the sea front team do an incredible job clearing it away.

“Tourism is at the heart of Bournemouth. There is the potential for them to make a big noise about being a sustainable resort. BCP Council have just declared a Climate Emergency which means they will have to start implementing measures towards carbon reduction.”

The council started its waste-reduction campaign last year, employing six full-time staff and 15 seasonal staff to clear the beach of rubbish with the use of three beach tractors and surf rakes.

The council claims it clears 2,000 tons of waste from its shorefront, 45 per cent of which is recyclable or organic waste and only a small percentage going to landfill.

Imogen believes more stringent controls should be put in place on what people bring to the beach and what items are sold on the seafront to help the local wildlife and the environment.

She said: “Last year they started the 'leave only footprints' campaign with the aim to raise more awareness around littering.”

“However, I would like to see BCP Council to take a much harder line with littering and waste in general, for example, some big signs saying 'take your litter home’ all along the seafront.

“There are still cafes and kiosks selling food in polystyrene and many of the bars sell drinks in plastic, single use cups. A simple strategy could be that drinks can only be sold in reusable cups which are not glass. This would have a significant impact on the amount of litter created. Alternatively, paper cups would be better than plastic."

Britain’s best beach, according to TripAdvisor’s annual Traveller’s Choice Beach Awards 2019, had thousands of visitors coming from far and wide as Bournemouth Pier experienced a footfall of 70,000 people on Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd last week.

Nearly 10,000 ice creams were sold, 400 sunbeds hired, and 900 deckchairs hired on Tuesday alone.

Cllr Lewis Allison, Portfolio Holder for Tourism, Leisure and Communities, said: “As we welcome an increased number of beach-goers we do all we can to accommodate our visitors and, as standard practice, have doubled our efforts by increasing the cleansing operations to morning and evening, seven days a week.

“This means that on top of daily inspections by our seafront team and regular patrols, the beach is cleansed thoroughly with a beach tractor, of which we have three, twice a day.

“Additionally, our seafront rangers will stay on into the evening at peak times and will only finish their shift when they are confident footfall has decreased to a self-managing level.”