Lossiemouth beach cleaned up as part of The Great British Beach Clean
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Volunteers hit Lossiemouth beach for a community litter pick at the weekend as part of The Great British Beach Clean.
Lossiemouth Community Council organised the initiative with support from Elgin Rotary Club, Positive Action Group, Lossie Cod Heids and Moray Standup Paddleboard Group.
A second litter pick also took place at the River Lossie as part of World Rivers Day which sees millions of people clean up waste worldwide.
Marian Evans who led the project on behalf of Lossiemouth Community Council said: "We had a good turnout of around 45 people with families coming from around the area.
"It was a nice way to finish up the season to clear the beach. I'm a Rotarian so I knew through the diary that it is was World Rivers Day as well. I thought why not have a community litter clean of the two marine areas that we can access here.
"It was lovely to see families out there. The parents were saying that they were just trying to get their children to understand how important it is to reduce plastics and to reduce waste."
The West Beach is in regular need of cleaning with ocean waste, plastic and, more recently, face masks littering the scenic area.
However, it is thanks to community action that the beach and the river are kept in good condition.
"The West Beach has been so busy this year," said Ms Evans.
"When you pick up little pieces of polystyrene and broken plastic you can understand why conservationists are very concerned that sea life are consuming this stuff.
"Staycations are here to stay though, so we need to show how beautiful this area is and we need to keep it that way.
Sunday's litter pick took place on the final day of the Maine Conservation Society's Great British Beach Clean which started on September 17.
However, Ms Evans is already planning for another community outing.
She said: "The next thing that we are planning is to organise a town litter pick over a weekend in April or May next year. It would just be an opportunity to get everyone involved and get ready for the tourist season.
"I would encourage as many community councils to try and get as many of these things going as possible.
"The work at the weekend was a great example of how small community groups can come together to achieve a nice outcome."
