- Beach clean collected almost 900 pieces of litter weighing nearly 5kg during route along Norfolk coast
- Beach Clean station made from marine waste donated to California beach
- Partnership is encouraging holidaymakers to protect the beach
- The 2 Minute Foundation estimates more than 350 metric tonnes has been collected by #2MinuteBeachClean campaign
Milton Keynes, UK – Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has cleaned up California beach in Norfolk – spiritual UK home of its iconic camper – in partnership with The 2 Minute Foundation.
As Brits head to the coast for another summer heatwave, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and The 2 Minute Foundation are urging holidaymakers to look after the UK’s beaches, by taking litter with them and picking up other rubbish they find to protect wildlife and improve the health of the nation’s beauty spots.
During the beach clean, which covered a stretch of coastline near California, Norfolk, the team collected almost 900 bits of litter including broken glass, a car aerial, plastic wrappers, and microplastics from the ocean, with the near-5kg haul sent off to be recycled.
To encourage visitors to keep the California dunes tidy of rubbish, a Beach Clean station made from marine waste, complete with litter pickers and bags, has been donated. The 2 Minute Foundation, a national charity devoted to cleaning up the planet with small, simple acts, has around 1,000 stations in the UK, and estimates more than 350 metric tonnes have been cleaned up since it started the #2MinuteBeachClean campaign in 2013.
Top beach clean tips
- Take gloves and a bag or bucket with you whenever you go to the beach so you can do your #2MinuteBeachClean.
- Look along the tideline (where you can see the sea has left a line of seaweed or debris, or the wet sand meets the dry sand) as this is where you’ll find plastics and litter that the tide has brought in.
- Plan how you’re going to get rid of the litter you find – check out where the nearest bin is and recycle whatever you can.
- Take care not to disturb wildlife.
- Stay safe: be aware of the tide and don’t pick up heavy items, sharps, or unhygienic waste.
- And most importantly, educate yourself! Did you know that 80 per cent of pollution in the oceans comes from inland? So don’t forget your #2MinuteLitterPick and #2MinuteSolution as well as your #2MinuteBeachClean!
California Beach in Norfolk, which measures approximately 5,358 miles from California, USA, is the UK’s spiritual home for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ iconic camper, which now features a touring model for every budget, journey, and adventure. With the latest addition of the Caddy California joining the California and Grand California, it means Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is the only manufacturer with a factory-produced campervan in every market segment.
Tom McIntyre, Head of Product Planning from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: “An important part of our California family is its ability to give people the freedom to travel and enjoy the great outdoors and make it a home from home. Of course, for us to enjoy the planet we must also look after it, too, and with millions of visitors heading to the UK beaches over the summer holidays the importance of keeping our beaches clean and tidy is more crucial than ever.
“We hope that working with The 2 Minute Foundation will ensure California Beach in Norfolk is kept tidy now and in the future and our work encourages others to do the same.”
Claire Giner, Head of Education at The 2 Minute Foundation, said: “We’re really grateful to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles for donating the Beach Clean station and helping with this clean up. Every #2MinuteBeachClean that you do is protecting wildlife and the planet – 94 per cent of the planet’s biodiversity is found in the sea and the oceans are a vital carbon store, so beach cleaning is awesome for all of us.”
For more information on the Volkswagen California range visit: https://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/en/new-vehicles.html or to find out more about The 2 Minute Foundation visit https://2minute.org/.