Washed up, a 1970s yoghurt pot: Item among 25 tonnes of rubbish cleared off UK beaches in four day blitz

Yoghurt pot, dating back to 1970s, found on beach in Teignmouth, Devon

Among 25 tonnes of rubbish cleared off UK beaches in a four-day blitz

Lettering remains clear on pot, which was bought 40 years ago for 11p



Symbolic: This yoghurt pot, dating back to the 1970s, has only just washed up onto a British beach

Faded and cracked but still largely intact, this yoghurt pot dating back to the 1970s has only just washed up onto a British beach – a symbol of the abiding legacy of our throwaway culture.

Discovered in Teignmouth, Devon, the pot was among 25 tonnes of rubbish cleared off beaches by volunteers in a four-day blitz.



The lettering remains clear on the pot despite the fact that it was bought from a Tesco store 40 years ago for 11p.

Volunteers cleared millions of items of marine litter from beaches up and down the UK during the blitz at the end of March.



Campaigners say the vast sea of discarded packaging floating around Britain is a growing threat to marine animals, which regularly wash up dead with stomachs full of plastic.

The collection of deadly flotsam also included thousands of Lego pieces washed off a container ship in 1997, a TV, a set of dentures, and a plastic chicken.

Surfers Against Sewage, the campaign group which co-ordinated the operation, described the scale of the pollution as jaw dropping.

SAS chief executive, Hugo Tagholm, said volunteers found more than 3,200 pieces of litter for every mile of beach.

He said: 'Whilst removing shocking amounts of the usual marine litter suspects like plastic bottles, cigarette butts, fishing net and plastic bags, volunteers were also hunting for weird and wonderful items of marine litter.'



Blitz: The pot was among 25 tonnes of rubbish cleared off beaches by volunteers during a four-day blitz

Clear-up: Volunteers cleared millions of items of marine litter from beaches up and down the UK in the blitz at the end of March. Above, volunteers clear rubbish from Perran Sands beach in Cornwall

Another item: A vintage double decker wrapper which was found at the Perran Sands beach in Cornwall

Tim Andrewes, councillor on Cornwall County Council, said: 'The discovery of the yoghurt pot just shows how far and for how long this stuff travels as well as how long it takes to degrade - if it ever does.

'It's not just the effect of what gets washed up but the animals that ingest the plastic.

'It is frightening what is found in their stomachs.

Threat: Campaigners say the sea of discarded packaging floating around Britain is a threat to marine animals

Finished! Surfers Against Sewage, the campaign group which co-ordinated the operation, described the scale of the pollution as jaw dropping. Above, volunteers smile for the camera on Perran Sands beach in Cornwall

'Anecdotally it seems to be getting worse but it is so difficult to measure because the oceans are so vast.

'It is a global issue and there are still parts of the world which are not as strict about waste as we are in Europe.