I was so shocked that I was determined to do something about it. So I resolved to 'save' one square mile of ocean by collecting 46000 pieces of litter whilst walking on the beaches near my home. Every time I visited the beach I took 3 or 4 carrier bags and picked up all the litter I could carry. Whilst walking, I raised nearly £1000 for the Marine Conservation Society through sponsorship and sale of my unique seaside ‘souvenirs’. You can do your own bit to help by taking part in local river or beach clean-ups, such as Beachwatch.

My challenge took exactly a year to achieve - in total I walked over 200kms and carried away nearly a third of a tonne of rubbish!

To see how much I collected and where, click here.

Sadly, however, my challenge isn't really complete. Scientists estimate that the amount of plastic in the sea is increasing at a rapid rate, doubling every 3 years or so. By now, I probably should have collected around 100,000 pieces...This could be a lifetime's work and I still would not save a square mile of sea...

Walking

Whilst walking, I took photographs and created a book of what I saw, contrasting the seemingly unspoilt beauty of the landscape with the man-made debris which inhabits it.

Click here to see my photographs in sequence from the beginning of my challenge.

To see specific locations, click the following links:

Aldeburgh   Bawdsey   Covehythe   Dunwich 

Felixstowe   Orford Ness   Shingle Street   Sizewell  

Southwold   Thorpeness   Walberswick

Collecting

I have saved and photographed nearly everything from my walks