2. The Client
Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is an environmental charity organisation that protects the UK’s oceans, waves
and beaches so everyone can enjoy them safely. They target coastal environmental issues such as marine
litter, sewage pollution, climate change, toxic chemicals, shipping, industry and coastal development.
The SAS started up in 1990. They started up after a group of surfers who had had enough of surfing in the
sewage polluted waters off their three local UK beaches: St. Agnes, Chapel Porth and Porthtowan. From
then on they aimed to take and promote the benefit of public conservation, protection and improvement
of the marine environment, including land/shoreline.
The SAS achieve their aims by:
•Influencing the government on key issues affecting all environmental and recreational waters.
•Creating volunteering opportunities for everybody.
•Educating communities on the achievable solutions that will protect the UK’s oceans and beaches.
•Challenging the industry to have better standards to protect the coastal environment.
•Promoting scientific evidence that support why marine environment should be cleaner and safer.
•Informing the public about issues affecting waves, oceans and beaches, and those that use them.
The way the SAS are funded is by supporting ongoing environmental initiatives, community events and
campaigns through membership subscription and donations. They also gain funds from the sale of
merchandise and fundraising events.
3. The Issues:
The issues Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) campaign on are:
•Marine Litter
•Wave Protection
•Water Quality
•Climate Change
•Education
Marine Litter:
One campaign the SAS did against marine litter was called Mermaid Tears. Mermaid Tears are also known
as resin pellets or nurdles and are used in manufacturing plastic products. Their aim was to get the
plastics industry to handle these plastic pellets and minimize waste and reduce their environmental
footprint. How they did this was by firstly releasing a film, in 2007, exposing the polluting factories. In
2009 the British Plastic Federation to adopt an Operation Clean Sweep which 80% of member signed up to
join and help. Five years later the SAS Marine Litter Report published calling for the Operation Clean
Sweep manual to become a mandatory requirement in factories using mermaids’ tears.
The impact of this campaign decreased the amount of pellets alone the coastlines in the UK. SAS
volunteers delivered a bottle of 10,000 mermaid’s tears, collected from 1 Cornish beach. After this, in
2009, surfers celebrated as the SAS, OCS and BPF join together to release a manual guide for improving
British plastic factories use of the plastic pellets.
Wave Protection:
Global Wave Day. Surfers around the world stand up for UK waves in 2013. This day highlighted pollution,
marine litter and over-development going on on the UK shores. Surf protection groups from all over the
world including Hawaii, Australia, Portugal and many more all joined together to support the petition.
This day grew on the attention of what is happening with the waves and shore in the UK making the
attention of the problem greater and more support. This petition has been going annually for three years.
4. The Issues:
Water Quality:
There are approximately 31,000 Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) around the UK. They act as emergency
discharge valves in the sewerage system, discharging untreated sewage and wastewater when the system
comes close to bursting, supposedly during periods of intense rainfall. Without them sewage could start
backing up into houses and gardens, so they are a vital part to the sewage structure. However, SAS is
concerned that they are being used to regularly dispose untreated sewage, even during times of low
rainfall or none at all.
The water quality campaign launched a free app in 2013 called SAS Sewage Alert Service which is
available on Android and iPhones. This app alerts when a near by sewer is over flowing so surfers and
other beach users can avoid this potentially harmful pollution. This campaign set off in 2011 when
sending a SMS message to receive information was the best way to know if the beach you were going to
was safe. The app is a must have accessory for when going to the beach.
Climate Change:
The SAS provides and published guidance about climate change and the offshore effects. The
reports analyse the latest scientific evidence available on impacts on water quality, sea level rise, coastal
erosion, storm tracks, water temperatures and ocean acidification. It also looks at the emergence of the
marine renewable sector as one of the solutions to reducing our energy requirements. This raises
awareness to the public and gives them more information about what can be done to help this change.
5. Facts and figures:
Marine Litter:
•Over 100,000 marine mammals and over 1 million seabirds die every year from entanglement in marine
litter.
•A normal plastic bottle may persist for more than 450 years if left on a beach.
•On average there are 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in every square mile of ocean.
•4.5 trillion cigarette butts litter the environment every year.
The sources of marine litter:
•40.4% from the public
•4.5% Sewage related Debris
•13.9% fishing litter
•0.7% fly tipping
•3.9% shipping
•0.2% medical waste
•36.3% non-sourced
Water Quality:
•There are approximately 31,000 CSOs around the UK, many of which are completely unregulated.
• Combined Sewer Overflows should only discharge a maximum of 3 times per bathing season.
•More than £80 million pounds is spent cleaning up sanitary waste and fat, oil and grease from sewer
blockages.
Climate Change:
•The Safer Seas Service sent 212,772 free, real-time pollution warnings in 2014.
•The UK’s climate will become warmer and high summer temperatures will be more frequent.
•Intense rainfall will become more intense relating to sea levels will increasing.
•Extreme high sea levels will be experienced more frequently.
