September 18th, 2009
Roar on the Shore
Thursday 20th August 2009 saw Bournemouth and Poole attempt a ‘Fantastic Fireworks’ event to break the world record for setting off the largest number of fireworks simultaneously. At 9.30pm off the coast of Sandbanks 110,000 fireworks were ignited in less than 60 seconds. The record was indeed broken, but the display proved to be a bitter disappointment for the crowds as they one huge explosion was over in seconds and the beauty and spectacle was completely lost.
To make matters worse it now appears that the environmental effects of the event have been considerably detrimental as hundreds of rockets, comprising of plastic pellets and wooden sticks, continue to wash ashore.
The organisers had implied that the pellets would be made of biodegradable cardboard, but in fact they were plastic. Conservationists at Hengistbury Head picked up 600 of these pellets in one hour! At least the ones that wash ashore can be collected and disposed of; unfortunately the others will have floated out to sea posing a risk to marine life.
Plastic waste has always caused a problem on UK beaches as it never completely degrades and research has shown that small marine animals ingest tiny pieces of plastic and these toxins are passed up the food chain.
All of this has to beg the question: ‘was it really worth it?’
