Project Gather
Project Gather is the current Solway Firth Partnership supported by the Scottish Government’s Marine Fund Scotland to encourage positive action towards achieving the ambition of 200 miles of cleaner coastline in Dumfries and Galloway. The project supports and champions beach clean volunteers who play a vital role in surveying, researching and documenting marine litter.
Collective Action
By monitoring the plastics that wash up on our shore we will trial detailed marine litter surveys and monitor selected beaches to improve the quality of the data obtained to inform positive solutions to the modern-day challenge of plastic pollution. Although the majority of plastic is known to originate from land, it is the large, brightly coloured and very durable plastics used by the commercial fishing industry that are most conspicuous. Marine plastics may have travelled great distances but heavy creels are likely to have been lost by local fishers and can be returned to be repaired or dismantled and plastic parts reused. Lobster Pot Luck is a glossary created as part of a Dumfries and Galloway Climate Hub initiative to encourage beach cleaners to collect creel parts for return to local fishers.
Marine debris gathered by volunteers is collected by Dumfries and Galloway Council. It is often contaminated and difficult to sort so most of it is classified as non-recyclable waste and is sent to the Ecodeco Plant on the outskirts of Dumfries. Here waste is shredded, dried by naturally occurring heat and mechanically separated. The principal output of the facility is a fuel used in specialist ‘energy from waste’ power stations.
Large items found on the beach such as fish boxes can be returned to fishers or reused by local communities and some are even recycled into knife handles by a local business. The large items collected by Dumfries and Galloway Council are sorted at a Zero Waste Park and sent to a commercial recycling facility.
The report for the previous project can be found in the Solway Shore Action Final Report If the links in the document are not active for you then the additional reports can be accessed with these links: Measuring Marine Litter,_Beach comparison_2025 and WashedUpandBlue-booklet
Finders Keepers
Artists help transform the habit of beach combing into visual representations of collections and change how the marine environment is perceived. We are documenting beach clean collections and champion the volunteers through photography and film that will be included in an exhibition. This exhibition will complement the work of Mandy Barker, an internationally recognised artist who has a long relationship with the Dumfries and Galloway coast frequently visiting to source material for her work. The exhibition of Mandy’s vibrant photography will raise awareness of the global issue of plastic pollution by encouraging audiences to explore evidence of the impact of marine plastic on the environment.
Creative writing workshops are also taking place with Dr Anna Wilson from Glasgow University’s Waste Stories project.
Discover more about the stories behind the Solway Hoard by visiting Museum of the FutureNow here
Or read the stories in the booklet that accompanied the exhibition here
The final report for the More Positive Action for a Cleaner Solway project can be found here
The final report for the Positive Action for a Cleaner Solway project can be found here
Previous projects
These have focussed on the coast of the Machars, exploring sustainable actions applicable to rural locations, to clarify issues and test achievable options that considered many factors.
Find out more in these short presentations:
Beach Clean Case Studies
We need to find innovative solutions to the problem of plastics on our amazing shoreline. So, we are investigating a targeted approach to remove and reuse plastics and contribute to the circular economy.
The aim of the Solway Coast is Clear Project was to research and report on innovative solutions to removing; recycling / repurposing litter from historic litter sinks (places where marine debris has built up over a number of years) on the Dumfries and Galloway Coast. This was to be achieved through research and fact-finding trips to other areas of Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
Beach clean, Durness
The visits were made to the Plastic@Bay Project in Durness, the Clean Coasts Programme in Dublin and the government on the Isle of Man. The Irish project and Isle of Man government were chosen because of the Irish Sea connection to Dumfries and Galloway. Litter that is deposited on D&G coasts has generally originated from within the Irish Sea and the countries surrounding it so there were plans to discuss the common issue with our partners and learn from each other. The Plastic@Bay Project is a community project researching ways to recycle and upcycle fishing nets and ropes discarded on local beaches.
This was a highly successful project. We were able to incorporate a diverse group of interested individuals visiting some inspirational projects. Although all three visits had similar expectations, each of them turned out to be very different learning experiences.
It was useful to see projects at diverse stages of development and scale. Including projects with different levels of Central and Local Authority support.
Find out more in this short presentation or read the full report on the Solway Coast is Clear Cooperation Project_Final Report
