Clearly, we can't possibly place bins every eight metres on Formby beach. In fact, you won’t see any bins at all on our beach. There are several very good reasons for this, the main one being that Formby has one of the largest tidal ranges in the UK (10m) with tides regularly reaching the dune slopes, so any rubbish would be washed away and would then pollute the sea.
Another critical reason is because of our dune landscape. Our coastal dunes are mobile – they blow around – and that is what creates the specific habitat for our rare plants and animals. This means it is not easy to get vehicles onto the beach to collect rubbish. Regular driving over the dunes also damages the protected habitat, as well as acts as a potential hazard to visitors and dogs.
So, I’m sure it is clear why we really need visitors to take any rubbish away from the beach. We provide bins in the car park and roadways which we empty daily or even several times a day in summer.
But is this the real answer? In our consumer society, we have come to expect waste bins in convenient places so that we don’t have to carry rubbish. The growth in the use of plastic packaging over the years means we now have more rubbish than ever.