2. The client:
Overview of the client.
Surfers Against Sewage is a non-profit organization of all ages that is dedicated to
keeping British coastlines clean, healthy and free of man-made waste. The group
was formed in 1990 by a group of passionate surfers to combat environmental
issues after becoming fed up of the decreasing quality of beaches in their native
Cornwall. The group tackles issues that affect beaches and coasts in the UK with
help from volunteers and paying members from around the country. Their
campaigns are primarily based around the dangers that certain types of waste
pose to aquatic and marine life, such as fish and birds getting caught in netting or
choking on discarded plastic and rubber after mistaking it for food. SAS is funded
through membership subscriptions, donations, sale of branded merchandise,
fundraising events and sponsorship of their projects. Some of their goals are to
eliminate chemical dumping into the sea, reduce the amount of man-made waste
found on beaches, and improve water quality in the most chronically affected
areas in the UK. SAS members are not paid to do what they do and as such, all
their events and operations are entirely voluntary, such as organized beach
cleanups or community fundraisers. In addition to this, the organizations seeks to
have their environmental footprint be as small as possible when conducting their
activities, which they do by minimizing vehicle-based transport and energy usage,
and when energy must be used, they make sure it is supplied by a sustainable and
reliable supplier.
3. The issues:
The primary issues that SAS campaigns for includes the promotion of higher
standards for UK beaches and coastlines and the protection of marine wildlife
from the dangers of dumped sewage and man-made litter such as plastic, glass,
netting, chemicals and toxic waste. The organization also seeks to educate the
general public on the dangers that these waste products pose to marine
ecosystems. One of the charity’s more recent victories in their campaigning was
the decision by the Environment Agency to begin UV screening in sewage in order
to protect bathers from certain pathogens. Another victory for the charity, which
happened in 2009, was the introduction of the British Plastic Federation (BPF)’s
Operation Clean Sweep manual, which is aimed at improving efficiency in plastic
factories by making sure that workers realise the impact that plastic pellets
(‘mermaid’s tears’) have on the environment. The guide had new guidelines that
meant that more precautions were taken to ensure that the pellets were not
getting into water supplies and drains, and instead being used for normal plastic
production thanks to the fact that every pellet lost meant lost profit for the
company. This was a particularly significant victory for the group thanks to the
problem of said pellets - most plastics remain in the sea for thousands of years as
they do not biodegrade. In 2009, the Scottish government passed the Marine Bill
following extensive lobbying by SAS, which provided new measures regarding the
wellbeing and conservation of Scotland’s seas by giving new powers to councils
and overhauling fishing licenses and coastal development.
4. The issues:
In 2013, SAS broke the unofficial record for the highest amount of beach cleanup
volunteers with 314, which was thanks to their increased membership numbers.
Looking towards the future, SAS is hoping to draw more people to their cause with
rigorous advertising, fundraising and campaigning to let more people know about
the problems that coastlines in the UK face. The long term goal of the charity is
to ensure that the UK’s beaches are respected and valued, lacking sewage and
waste for all to enjoy. SAS also campaigns for improvements in shipping and
chemical distribution in order to ensure that spillages are reduced, and in the
event of one, they are dealt with quickly and with minimal damage to the
environment. Water quality is their top concern thanks to the increase in sewage
found in the seas thanks to 31,000 sewer overflows. SAS hopes to change this for
the better with a new law that requires overflows to be treated before being
pumped into the sea.
5. Facts and figures:
Surfers Against Sewage is a member of the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition (SCC),
the largest group of people in the UK who are dedicated to battling environmental
and climate issues. This groups reaches an audience of over 11 million people
linked to action and support groups. One of the SAS’s main issues is to tackle the
abundance of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) of which there are 31,000 around
the UK. These are used to discharge untreated sewage when their containment
systems are close to bursting as a way to avoid leakages. However, SAS has
evidence that these sewer overflows are being used to regularly dump waste,
rather than being used for an emergency situation like they were designed for. In
terms of the sewers themselves, there are more than 250,000 sewer blockages
every year caused by fat and grease clogging up the pipes.
A plastic bottle left adrift in the sea may take more than 450 years to fully
decompose, 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are dropped every year in the country, and
approximately 8 million pieces of marine litter enter the sea every day. To combat
this, £18 million is spent annually to clean up beaches and marine areas.
