Optical group joins beach clean campaign

Optical Express regional manager, Carla Thomas

Staff at Optical Express launched a beach cleaning partnership with the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) this week at the Clevedon Pier beach area in Bristol.

The company’s corporate social responsibility manager, Heather Suttie, tackled plastic litter with a team of local staff members. Colleagues at Optical Express clinics across the country will follow suit, joining and organising a series of beach cleans planned throughout the UK in 2020.

To date, the MCS’s beach cleans have removed more than 11 million pieces of litter, helping to fight back against the tide of plastic pollution. At this year’s Great British Beach Clean, which is run every September by the charity, over 10,000 volunteers worked together to remove 10,833kg of litter in one weekend.

According to data from the volunteers, there were, on average, 558 items of litter on every 100 metres of beach that were cleaned and surveyed in the UK, with plastic and polystyrene pieces the most common litter items found.

Mis-flushed items – plastic products which enter the world’s waterways via our bathrooms – are a significant source of marine plastic pollution, making up 8.5 per cent of all beach litter. Contact lenses and contact lens packaging are a major contributor to this form of plastic pollution, and research carried out by Optical Express suggests that at least one in four people dispose of used contact lenses by flushing them down the toilet or sink.

Heather said: “We all must try to eradicate single use plastic when we have alternative choices and we must dispose of plastic responsibly. I was shocked by the items we found on a recent beach clean near Bristol. As an organisation we are committed to taking part in more beach cleans across the UK and Ireland as it’s something many of us here at Optical Express want to support.”

The clean-up campaign will roll out across all branches

Optical Express regional manager, who organised the beach clean, Cala Thomas, said: “As a business we’re passionate about educating our patients about the damage caused by contact lens pollution and the environmental impact and from a local point of view it was really important for us as a team to serve our community and play our part.”

David Moulsdale, Optical Express chief executive, said: “The Marine Conservation Society does incredible work protecting our precious oceans and beaches, so it’s a privilege to team up and support their efforts. Whilst cleaning up plastic pollution is a vital part of this work, our real aim should be to cut down on the amount of plastic products we use in the first place. I’d encourage everyone to look carefully at the single-use plastic products they use and consider replacing them with more sustainable, ocean-friendly alternatives.”

Anne Thwaites, MCS corporate relationships manager, commented: “Some of our most iconic marine wildlife is under threat from litter in our seas, with hundreds of species accidentally eating or becoming entangled in drifting items of waste. Marine litter is also dangerous for people and damaging to tourism and our fishing industries. We all have a part to play in turning the tide on litter. It is fantastic to hear that MCS business member Optical Express have organised their own beach clean as part of our fight against marine litter in the UK.”

Watch the team’s first beach clean here.