Taking litter-picking to new depths! Britain’s first team of underwater cleaner-uppers takes the plunge off the Welsh coast

  • Neptune's Army of Rubbish Cleaners are dedicated to underwater litter picking 
  • NARC has organised more than 1,000 clean-up dives in its 14 active years 
  • Volunteers, who pick litter around the coast of Pemrokeshire, Wales, have even found a kitchen sink while diving  

Waste collectors usually require little more than a litter-picker and a few bin bags.

But anyone thinking of joining Neptune’s Army of Rubbish Cleaners might also want to pack a wetsuit and oxygen tank – since they are Britain’s first charity dedicated to underwater litter-picking.

Taking the public-spirited pastime to new depths, NARC has organised more than 1,000 clean-up dives around the coast of Pembrokeshire, west Wales, in the 14 years since it was formed.

In that time, volunteers have found all manner of objects while trawling the seabed, including a kitchen sink.

Neptune's Army of Rubbish Cleaners are dedicated to underwater litter picking off the coast of Pembrokeshire in Wales

Neptune's Army of Rubbish Cleaners are dedicated to underwater litter picking off the coast of Pembrokeshire in Wales

NARC's organisers support the Tidy Britain Group's Great British Spring Clean, which is backed by the Daily Mail

NARC's organisers support the Tidy Britain Group's Great British Spring Clean, which is backed by the Daily Mail

Its organisers support the Tidy Britain Group’s Great British Spring Clean, which is backed by the Daily Mail.

NARC aims to raise awareness of the litter in our seas after seeing first hand the devastating impact that rubbish found around the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is having on wildlife.

David Jones, who has been with the charity since 2008, said that as well as finding the usual haul of plastic bottles and drinks cans, fish are regularly found in discarded fishing nets.

He said the seabed was often thought of as ‘out of sight, out of mind’ by homeowners, resulting in anything from cars to shopping trolleys and tyres being discovered along the stunning coastline.

The 45-year-old, from Haverfordwest, worked as a diving instructor in Thailand, the Cook Islands and New Zealand before settling in Wales.

‘I have been lucky enough to dive in some pretty beautiful places and I would class Pembrokeshire as one of them,’ he said. 

‘We have really important marine animals and seabirds and it is a special place – so I wanted to be able to give something back.’

The team has organised more than 10,000 dives in the 14 years since it was formed

The team has organised more than 10,000 dives in the 14 years since it was formed 

The divers have found all manner of objects during their dives, even including a kitchen sink

The divers have found all manner of objects during their dives, even including a kitchen sink 

Team member David Jones, who has been with the charity since 2008, said fish are regularly found in discarded fishing nets

Team member David Jones, who has been with the charity since 2008, said fish are regularly found in discarded fishing nets

NARC’s five trustees and 20 regular volunteers give talks in schools to educate children about the impact of dropping litter.

Mr Jones added: ‘The Great British Spring Clean is great. There has never been so much interest in the environment and litter-picking, which is definitely down to the “Blue Planet effect”.

‘There has been a step change in the public consciousness and people are really wanting to do something and make a change.’

Some 536,994 volunteers have now signed up for the Great British Spring Clean, which runs until April 23. 

More than 4,000 tons of litter has so far been picked up from towns, cities, beaches and the countryside. To sign up, go online to gbspringclean.org.

n The president of the Seychelles, Danny Faure, dived to 400ft in a miniature sub to deliver a speech pleading for stronger protection for the world’s oceans.

He joined scientists from a British-led charity, the Nekton research institute in Oxford, who have been documenting the health of the Indian Ocean. 

Mr Faure said: ‘This issue is bigger than all of us and we cannot wait for the next generation to solve it.’ 

Guinness axes plastic ring carriers and replaces them with cardboard cases to avoid eco-damage 

Plastic ring carriers that can pose a threat to Britain’s wildlife are being removed from packs of Guinness, Harp lager and Smithwick’s beer.

The canned drinks will instead be sold in recyclable cardboard packs and will prevent 400 tonnes of plastic waste a year.

The decision by drinks giant Diageo follows similar moves by Carlsberg and Corona and is further evidence of how big business is taking radical steps to reduce waste as championed by the Daily Mail’s Turn the Tide on Plastic campaign. The new packs will be sold in Ireland from August and in Britain and other export markets from next summer. 

From 2017, Diageo committed to phasing out plastic straws and stirrers and single-use plastic bottles from its sites and last year set a target to ensure 100 per cent of plastic used was recyclable, reusable or compostable from 2025.

Mark Sandys, its global head of beer, said: ‘This is good news for the brand, for our wider beer portfolio and for the environment.’ 

Plastic carriers will be removed from Guinness, Harp lager and Smithwick's beer and will prevent 400 tonnes of plastic waste a year

Plastic carriers will be removed from Guinness, Harp lager and Smithwick's beer and will prevent 400 tonnes of plastic waste a year

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We cannot wait for the next generation to solve climate change’ says President of the Seychelles in world-first speech delivered from the ocean floor in submarine

    Seychellois President Danny Faure called for stronger protection of the 'beating blue heart of our planet'

    Seychellois President Danny Faure called for stronger protection of the 'beating blue heart of our planet'

    In a striking speech delivered from deep below the ocean's surface, the Seychelles president made a global plea for stronger protection of the 'beating blue heart of our planet.'

    President Danny Faure's call for action, the first-ever live speech from an underwater submersible, came from one of the many island nations threatened by global warming.

    He spoke during a visit to an ambitious British-led science expedition exploring the Indian Ocean depths. 

    Oceans cover over two-thirds of the world's surface but remain, for the most part, uncharted. 

    Mr Faure said: 'We have better maps of Mars than we do of the ocean floor'. 

    The President's speech was during a British-led exploration of the Indian Ocean

    The President's speech was during a British-led exploration of the Indian Ocean 

    'This issue is bigger than all of us, and we cannot wait for the next generation to solve it. We are running out of excuses to not take action, and running out of time,' the president said from a manned submersible 400 feet (121 meters) below the waves, on the seabed off the outer islands of the African nation.

    Wearing a Seychelles T-shirt and shorts, the president said that the experience was: 'So, so cool'.  

    It made him more determined than ever to speak out for marine protection, he said.

    'We just need to do what needs to be done. The scientists have spoken.'

    The oceans' role in regulating climate and the threats they face are underestimated by many, even though as Mr Faure pointed out they generate 'half of the oxygen we breathe.' 

    He gave the speech while inside a manned submersible that was resting on the seabed off the coast of the Seychelles 400 feet below the surface of the sea

    He gave the speech while inside a manned submersible that was resting on the seabed off the coast of the Seychelles 400 feet below the surface of the sea

    By the end of the mission, researchers expect to have conducted over 300 deployments, collected around 1,400 samples and 16 terabytes of data and surveyed about 30 square kilometers (11.5 sq. miles) of seabed using high-resolution multi-beam sonar equipment

    By the end of the mission, researchers expect to have conducted over 300 deployments, collected around 1,400 samples and 16 terabytes of data and surveyed about 30 square kilometers (11.5 sq. miles) of seabed using high-resolution multi-beam sonar equipment

    Scientific missions are crucial in taking stock of underwater ecosystems' health.

    Small island nations are among the most vulnerable to sea level rise caused by climate change, and some have found creative ways to express their concerns. 

    Mr Faure's speech came a decade after members of the Maldives' Cabinet donned scuba gear and used hand signals at an underwater meeting highlighting global warming's threat to the lowest-lying nation on earth. 

    Land erosion, dying coral reefs and the increased frequency of extreme weather events threaten such countries' existence.

    During the expedition, marine scientists from the University of Oxford have surveyed underwater life, mapped large areas of the sea floor and gone deep with manned submersibles and underwater drones.

    Little is known about the watery world below depths of 30 meters, the limit to which a normal scuba diver can go. 

    Operating down to 500 meters, the scientists were the first to explore areas of great diversity where sunlight weakens and the deep ocean begins.

    By the end of the mission, researchers expect to have conducted over 300 deployments, collected around 1,400 samples and 16 terabytes of data and surveyed about 30 square kilometers (11.5 sq. miles) of seabed using high-resolution multi-beam sonar equipment. 

    The data will be used to help the Seychelles expand its policy of protecting almost a third of its national waters by 2020. 

    The initiative is important for the country's 'blue economy,' an attempt to balance development needs with those of the environment.

    'From this depth, I can see the incredible wildlife that needs our protection, and the consequences of damaging this huge ecosystem that has existed for millennia,' Mr Faure said in his speech. 

    'Over the years, we have created these problems. We can solve them.'

    Oceans cover over two-thirds of the world's surface but remain, for the most part, uncharted

    Oceans cover over two-thirds of the world's surface but remain, for the most part, uncharted

    Mr Faure said: 'We have better maps of Mars than we do of the ocean floor'

    Mr Faure said: 'We have better maps of Mars than we do of the ocean floor'.

    Currently, only about 5 per cent of the world's oceans are protected. Countries have agreed to increase the area to 10 per cent by 2020. 

    But experts and environmental campaigners say between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of the oceans outside nations' territorial waters should get protected status to ensure marine biodiversity.

    Researchers hope their findings also will inform ongoing United Nations talks aimed at forging the first high seas conservation treaty, scheduled to conclude this year.

    Environmental groups argue an international treaty is urgently needed because climate change, overfishing and efforts to mine the seabed for precious minerals are putting unsustainable pressure on marine life that could have devastating consequences for creatures on land as well.

    Oceans will be one of the seven main themes of this year's U.N. climate summit in Chile in December.

    While scientists with the Nekton mission are nearing the end of their expedition, much of their work is just beginning. 

    In the next few months, researchers at Oxford will analyse the samples and video surveys and put them together with environmental data.

    'When we pull them together we can understand not just what we see in the areas that we've visited but what we might expect in other regions in the Seychelles,' said Lucy Woodall, the mission's chief scientist. 

    This is the first of a half-dozen regions the mission plans to explore before the end of 2022, when scientists will present their research at a summit on the state of the Indian Ocean. Billions of people live along the ocean's shores in Africa and Asia.

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