Catriona Spink, Isle of Tiree

“I am a self-employed artist, a carer and a voluntary firefighter here on Tiree. A beach cleaner always, and having realised that the few of us constantly taking plastics from our tideline was having virtually no impact, I decided to invite people, islanders and visitors, to help deep clean our beaches. Approximately 3 years later we have removed an estimated 300 tonnes of marine debris, with over 300 volunteers and beach cleans! It looks amazing, the picture of what is new arrivals is obvious, a little with every tide, huge dumpings with storms. We will try and monitor what is happening, and continue to prevent micro-plastic formation on our coasts with everyone’s help.”

Here is Catriona’s message to COP26: “We need to consider seriously the use of plastic as a fibre in any form. Once in the air, it is impossible to stop. According to the WWF, 15% of the particles recorded on bees is now plastic. I have seen finite particles caught by the sun as I picked from the tideline a carpet of household plastic. I filmed myself working as a builder, preparing my ‘king-span’ insulation; on watching particles like gold dust fill the air around me – our shared atmosphere. These are not the only horrific examples – consider fishing ropes, disintegrating into hair-like fractures, bagging like silica, finite slithers then dust. We need to consider every industry for what it emits, ban many products, work on natural alternatives, prevent microfibres at source, site of use and disposal. We have made a complete mess. Every sphere of modern life is found on the beach. We all can do something within our own lives, joining millions of others doing the same … it will make a difference.”

To follow Catriona’s work, you can find her Facebook page (@OceanGives).