Botany Bay beach litter pickers earning cash for charity

There was "volunteer fatigue" among litter pickers, Friends of Botany Bay said

A group which collects rubbish from a Kent beach is asking the public to buy "beach-clean hours" in a bid to encourage more volunteering.

Friends of Botany Bay said £15 will buy one hour, with £10 of that going towards the group's costs.

The remaining £5 of the the money will be given to a charity chosen by a volunteer.

Thanet District Council said it had to prioritise which beaches it could provide cleaning crews for.

Barry Manners, from Friends of Botany Bay, said the group had been picking up rubbish at the beach for years.

"Last summer about 30 volunteers would be on the beach every Saturday and Sunday removing up to 30 bags of litter every day," he added.

But he said there was some "volunteer fatigue" at the end of the summer.

The new scheme was "a way for our volunteers to get motivated because they know that any money made from this goes directly into community causes they care about," Mr Manners said.

Thanet District Council said it was providing more bins and cleaning crews in 2021

He said those donating would get a photo or video from the volunteer who would be assigned to their "hour".

A spokesman for Thanet District Council said: "We have 19 miles of coastline to manage so have to prioritise carefully in order to use taxpayers' money as efficiently as possible.

"We are, however, putting extensive plans in place in anticipation of another busy spring and summer.

"This includes hundreds of extra litter bins [and] seasonal beach cleansing crews working extended hours seven days a week."

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