Over 145 tonnes of debris cleared from West Sussex beaches after shipping containers lost at sea

More than 145 tonnes of waste that washed up on West Sussex beaches over the past few weeks has now been collected and safely disposed of, councils have confirmed.

The debris came from 16 shipping containers that went overboard from a cargo ship in the Solent on 6 December, 11 of which have since washed ashore in East and West Sussex.

A major clean-up operation, co-ordinated by West Sussex County Council (WSCC), Arun District Council and Chichester District Council, has been recovering a mix of container parts and organic materials from the coastline.

WSCC said:

“Our priorities remain public safety and protecting the environment, and the work continues right across the county’s coastline.”

Recovery teams have used a combination of hand litter picking and vacuuming to remove smaller pieces of plastic and foam, which are then segregated and taken for disposal.

Over the weekend, large pieces of foam were recovered from Medmerry Nature Reserve with the permission of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), which owns the site.

Work is also continuing to recover fragments of the containers from other areas along the West Sussex coast, with efforts ongoing to clear further debris.