Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is an environmental charity established in 1990 by surfers in Cornwall to improve water quality at UK beaches. SAS campaigns on issues related to the sea and coastlines like litter, sewage waste pumped into the sea, and toxic chemicals. They have achieved awards and influenced companies but still hope to make all UK beaches litter-free and increase public awareness of threats like climate change. SAS also campaigns against threats from shipping like oil spills and flags of convenience that can pollute the sea. They provide key facts and figures on marine litter and pollution to support their campaigns and awareness efforts.

1. Name: Hannah Mizen
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2. The client: surfers against sewage
Overview of the client.
Who are they, when did they start, why did they start, what do they do, how are
they funded?
Surfers against sewage are an environmental charity who protect the UK’s oceans and beaches, targeting issues such as
climate change, toxic chemicals, shipping, sewage, pollution and costal development. They want people to be able to
enjoy the beach and sea safely. With help from the community, all different kinds of event can take place, like
campaigning, volunteering, conservation, education and scientific research. They also want to advance the education of
the public in protection, conservation, improvement and ecologically sustainable management of marine environments,
including the land around it. They want to influence the government and challenge big industries to make a real change.
Education is really important to them, so they want to make sure communities are told about achievable and sustainable
sources which help protect the beaches, for example like recycling. Not only do they want to educate, but they want to
inform the nation about the problems the beach is facing, they believe everyone should be aware, not only people who live
by the sea, but also in the city.
SAS was established in 1990 by a group of surfers and beach goers in the village of St Agnes and Porthtowan who created a
nation wide movement which wanted to see water quality on beaches improved. The SAS encouraged pressing issues to be
changed, collating health evidence which is what helped it become one of the best recognized environmental campaigns of
the 1990s. This has had a positive effect on today's water quality but there is still work to be done with 31,000 combined
sewer overflows are still active and the amount of litter on beaches has increased by 100% in the last 15 years.

3. The issues:
Your client advocates on a number of different yet related issues.
What issues your client campaign on?
What are some of the impacts they have managed to achieve?
What are they still hoping to achieve?
The issues this client campaigns on are all related to do with the sea and the environment around it. They campaign on litter on the beach
and in the sea, sewage waste being pumped into the sea, protect surfer’s and beach goers welfare when being in the sea and to help support
thriving, sustainable and economical successful costal communities. They want to
They have managed to achieve many awards such as the Lovie Award 2013, the Cornwall Today, Creative circle award, BBC coast award and
Observer ethical award. Along with these awards they have also achieved practical impacts on the environment, like encouraging large
companies to not dump waste in the sea.
SAS is still hoping to achieve that one day all the UK’s beaches will be free from litter, but they also hope to increase public awareness and
to educate more and more people the importance of the beach and sea and how it is a vital part of the UK, and if everything continues on
like this, then there will be no waves and the beach will not be able to host a habitat for marine and beach life. They hope to become
stakeholders within the government to have more power over the beach and seas. Leading on from this they then want to create laws to
protect waves, this means that developers could build anything in a place that would effect the sea or waves, as currently there are no laws
to protect the UK’s surf spots.
Another issue is the toxic chemicals that come from household sinks, toilets and showers into the sewage system. These systems are set up
to get rid of harmful pathogens, but leave toxic chemicals which then end up in the sea and harming the environment. The chemicals effect
sea life by effecting their hormones, where a study showed a third of male fish had signs of feminisation. The chemicals that are absorbed by
the bottom of the food chain will subsequently then be passed to the top of the food chain. Chemicals from cleaning products, face washes
and detergents could all be consumed by humans through eating marine animals. The SAS are hoping to push kinder and safer alternatives on
to mainstream water sewerage systems, also getting companies to substitute harmful chemicals for safer alternatives.
Climate change is also another threat facing the sea, so the SAS are keen to campaign for that too. The climate is changing, which is
resulting in strange weather patterns, natural disasters and flooding/drought. The SAS have got information about climate change from the
UKCIP and they say that an increase in rainfall means that the sea levels will rise which will have a significant impact on the coast and
surfers. Other effects will be that the rain will make more sewage overflows, which means that there will be an increased health risk for sea
users, run-off from urban areas will effect the sea. But the SAS are campaigning against this to help to stop climate change. The SAS are a
committed member of the SCC, the UK’s largest group dedicated to action on climate change, which has over 11 million members.

4. The issues:
The issue of shipping is another big concern of the SAS, but is one usually
forgotten by everyone else. Ships coming and going across the sea to deliver
goods don’t just let carbon emissions into the air but also threaten oil spills. In
1976 the coastline of Cornwall was ruined by the Torrey Canyon oil spill,
threatening all sea life and the waters its self. Still now the UK’s beaches are still
under constant threat of oil spills with ships almost always being out in sea,
delivering BMWs and household goods. Not only are oil spills are reeking havoc,
but also flags of convenience, where ships can get away with employing an under-
qualified crew who don’t know what they are doing meaning they collectively can
cause more pollution than necessary, and also be more likely to make the ship
have an oil spill. Also by hiring ships from far away countries because it is
cheaper, means more pollution for the sea. Flags of convenience has also abused
the system of human rights because these far away countries do not have any
regulations. Not only oil pollutes the water whilst shipping, but also shipping
packaging, plastic nurdles used for injection moulding, fish crates, netting and
vehicle components all end up in the sea and endanger the sea animals.

5. Facts and figures:
Use this space to highlight key facts and figures related to this project. These could be very useful later
on in your project as you try to raise awareness.
•SAS has found that the amount of litter on the beach has risen constantly for the last 20 years
•8 million individual pieces of marine litter enter the sea everyday
•1 million sea birds die annually from ingesting litter
•Local authorities spend £18 million removing beach litter which is a 37% increase in cost over the last 10
years.
•Marine litter is a problem caused by our modern lifestyle.
•70% of marine litter sinks to the seabed, 15% ends up on beaches.
•Annual input of global marine litter into the sea is 6.8 tonnes
•58% of marine litter is attributed to shoreline and recreational activities.
•10% of litter is discarded fishing gear which continues to catch fish, birds and dolphins. Seals get tangled
up in fishing line, dolphins and whales can get caught in discarded nets, sea birds collect fishing material
for their nest then they become entangled.
•94% of Fulmars (sea birds) in the North Sea have ingested plastic, meaning that this could prompt a
decline in these birds, as the plastic kills them off, there is a chance of them becoming extinct.
•SAS have 7,500 beach clean volunteers and 10,000 regular supporters. They tackle costal litter by
putting the litter back in a bag where it belongs and not on the beach, so animals cannot be harmed by
the litter.
•The SAS do 1,000 beach cleans annually.
•Over the past 100 years the average sea surface temperature has risen by 0.5%