The Keep the Archipelago Tidy association intends to continue monitoring litter on Finland’s beaches, even though the EU money which allowed the original two-year project to take place has now dried up. The group say they will fund the continuing monitoring themselves.
The two-year research found that Finnish shorelines were the dirtiest out of all the Baltic countries studied, including Sweden, Estonia and Latvia.
Monitors assessed rubbish levels on nine beaches in Finland three times a year for the duration of the two-year project.
The study blamed a ‘modern take-away lifestyle’ for the high levels of plastic and other debris littering Finland’s shorelines, but also pointed to poor waste management which allowed rubbish to be washed up onshore.
