Preseli MP Stephen Crabb is calling on beachgoers to ditch cheap bodyboards and instead hire equipment from local businesses.
The comes after Keep Britain Tidy, a nationwide charity tackling littering, released shocking images of over 200 bodyboards which had been dumped on a Devon beach. Locally, a number of broken bodyboards have been spotted lying in the car park at Newgale by the Preseli MP.
Cheap bodyboards, which have for years been a staple part of a day at the beach, are often manufactured in the Far East before being transported thousands of miles to the UK. Not only are the often of a poor quality and snap after only a few uses, their carbon footprint is also extremely large. Made of polystyrene, they quickly become hazardous to marine wildlife.
With several local adventure businesses hiring out bodyboards and other water sport equipment, Stephen Crabb said: “These cheap bodyboards might be good fun for an hour in the waves, but they soon break and can cause serious problems for our local wildlife.
“I am grateful to Keep Britain Tidy for highlighting this issue which has been growing around the UK in recent years. It is clear, from what I have seen on my visits to Newgale this summer, that we are seeing the same trend here with these throwaway body boards. These boards will now sadly end up in landfill, having travelled thousands of miles across the world. This isn’t sustainable or good for our local environment.”
“Pembrokeshire has several well established hire companies, allowing you to get good quality equipment for your visit to the beach save in the knowledge that it will last and be re-used.”