Britain's beaches 'drowning in plastic'

London, Mar 26(ANI): The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has called for an urgent marine action plan in Britain after they found piles of plastic rubbish along beaches across the country during the latest annual survey of beach litter.

According to the MCS, thousands of volunteers picked up 2,742 bags of litter from 400 beaches during a survey done on one weekend last year.

The list of most commonly picked up items from beaches was topped by small and larger pieces of plastic, which together accounted for a fifth of the items gathered.

The plastic items found included thousands of drinks bottles, carrier bags, wrappers, rope, caps, cutlery, trays, straws and cups.

Rachel Bailey, MCS litter projects officer, said plastic was a particular problem for wildlife, as seals get entangled in fishing nets and leatherback turtles swallowed plastic.

"Our seas and beaches are becoming overwhelmed with plastic litter, which not only looks horrible, but kills and injures many of our fantastic marine animals," The Telegraph quoted Bailey, as saying.

"Over 260 species of marine wildlife become entangled in litter or mistake it for food," she added. (ANI)