Registration for Sea Scotland 2026 is now live! Join us at Discovery Point, Dundee, on 27th October for our 10th anniversary conference 🥳 This year's theme is: Joining the dots to safeguard Scotland's seas. 🌊 Registration: shorturl.at/Ra7vT More details: www.seascotland.scot

Calling marine sector innovators! 📢 Want to showcase your leadership in the marine sector? Be a Sponsor for Sea Scotland 2026 on 27 October! Your support will help drive a diverse, inclusive, and engaging event. Find out more at www.seascotland.scot 🪸 @seascotland.bsky.social #SeaScotland2026

It's really great to see the contribution of citizen science efforts to data and policymaking - thanks @cathgem2000.bsky.social 🩵

Catherine Gemmell@cathgem2000.bsky.social · 4mo ago

It was great to share a Beachwatch update with the @communitiesforseas.bsky.social Marine Litter Group highlighting the new @mcsuk.bsky.social Beachwatch Data Explorer: beachwatch-data-explorer.vercel.app/explore With an important reminder this only provides a snapshot of what litter is out there!

Join Sea Scotland 2026 as a conference sponsor! Your support is crucial to help us make it as engaging, diverse and inclusive as possible. Plus it's a great opportunity to showcase your work and contribution to the sector. 🪸 🌊 For more details, go to www.seascotland.scot 📆 27th October 2026

Last night I was on STV news talking about the UK packaging Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme. With thanks to our friends at @keepscotbeautiful.bsky.social and @keepwalestidy.cymru for leading this work I had the chance to advocate for our joint @mcsuk.bsky.social ask of litter payments!

Our first pup paddleboard session of the year! These are the days to remind us why all the work to protect our amazing ocean is so important for nature and for our wellbeing! #OceanOptimism @mcsuk.bsky.social

Another day another litter pick on Jaspers walk for @pawsonplastic.bsky.social 🐾

The consultation responses and government view on the UK Marine Strategy Part 1 has been published: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69ce7d... We at the @mcsuk.bsky.social responded to the consultation & I helped feed in our views on the Marine Litter section - so what do we think?

Jasper and I can't wait for the #DepositReturnScheme to start! Litter picking on our morning walk for @pawsonplastic.bsky.social 🐾 #SourceToSea @mcsuk.bsky.social @reloop.bsky.social

It was great to share a Beachwatch update with the @communitiesforseas.bsky.social Marine Litter Group highlighting the new @mcsuk.bsky.social Beachwatch Data Explorer: beachwatch-data-explorer.vercel.app/explore With an important reminder this only provides a snapshot of what litter is out there!

🤿 A very enjoyable dip on Friday with @cathgem2000.bsky.social & Lynne from Moray Ocean Community 🌊 A sizeable swell coming in but thankfully the tidal pools were bursting with life! - Spiny Squat Lobster - Sea Hare - Common Prawn #snorkelling #tidalpool #underwaterphotography #scotlandunderwater

The @senedd.wales just passed their #DepositReturnScheme regulations!! A fantastic result for @mcsuk.bsky.social volunteers!

The incredible @lizzieprice.bsky.social as Beachwatch Manager for the @mcsuk.bsky.social was on BBC Breakfast this morning. With 95% of beaches surveyed by our volunteers last year having drinks related litter the main topic of discussion was the upcoming Deposit Return Scheme!

State of our Beaches 2025 is out 🌊 A huge thanks to the incredible 14, 507 volunteers who headed out to beaches across the UK last year to clean and collect vital litter data for the @mcsuk.bsky.social Beachwatch project.

Save the date for Sea Scotland 2026...and it’s our 10th birthday! 🎉 More details, including this year’s Sea Scotland youth event, coming soon. @youth4seas.bsky.social @mcsuk.bsky.social @scotlink.bsky.social @scotwildlife.bsky.social @howellmarine.bsky.social @faunaflora.bsky.social 📸 NatureScot

Thank you @2050climategroup.bsky.social for inviting me to join your panel on politics and policy to be able to share my experiences from @mcsuk.bsky.social on Saturday - was a fantastic discussion with some brilliant questions from the audience!

‼️OPPORTUNITY: Sea Scotland Steering Group Membership We are inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from organisations, groups or individuals based in Scotland who would like to join the Sea Scotland conference steering group. 💡Find out more & apply: bit.ly/4cI6OhG

Yesterday it was fantastic to see DRS regulations laid in Wales for plastic, metal and glass drinks containers! With @mcsuk.bsky.social Beachwatch volunteers finding drinks related litter on over 90% of beaches in 2024 this is brilliant news for Welsh seas!

Fab to see the regs laid today to ban plastic in single use wet wipes! Our @mcsuk.bsky.social volunteers have picked up thousands from Scottish beaches and across the UK! This will help wet wipe free beaches but also remember to only flush the three pees - pee, poo and toilet paper!

🌍 Islands are on the front line of plastic pollution, and also at the forefront of solutions. On 18 February 2026 (13:00–14:00 CET), join the Global Deposit and Return Platform webinar “Circular Islands: Winning the war on marine litter with DRS” us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... #drs #circulareconomy

Diolch Cardiff for a fantastic few days raising awareness of our marine litter work at @mcsuk.bsky.social with current and future members of the Senedd! From #depositreturn to reusable cups to fishing gear we covered a lot in two days & I can't wait to see what Wales does next to save our ocean!

Delighted to be part of the event last night, and show one of the films that we co-produced with @mcsuk.bsky.social Want to watch any of the three short films? 🎞️ www.reloopplatform.org/deposit-retu...

Short film launch with the Marine Conservation Society

Reloop and the Marine Conservation Society have launched a series of short film series exploring deposit systems in Europe.

reloopplatform.org

Catherine Gemmell@cathgem2000.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Fantastic to be in @senedd.wales last night for our @mcsuk.bsky.social event on a #DepositReturnScheme for Wales with @reloop.bsky.social @keepwalestidy.cymru & Trash Free Trails. Diolch to sponsor @carolynthomasms.bsky.social for sponsoring & @huwirrancadaviesms.bsky.social for speaking!

Brilliant event from @mcsuk.bsky.social last night! We're not often in the same room as each other, but it's always lovely to catch up when we are 🤩

Catherine Gemmell@cathgem2000.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Fantastic to be in @senedd.wales last night for our @mcsuk.bsky.social event on a #DepositReturnScheme for Wales with @reloop.bsky.social @keepwalestidy.cymru & Trash Free Trails. Diolch to sponsor @carolynthomasms.bsky.social for sponsoring & @huwirrancadaviesms.bsky.social for speaking!

Fantastic to be in @senedd.wales last night for our @mcsuk.bsky.social event on a #DepositReturnScheme for Wales with @reloop.bsky.social @keepwalestidy.cymru & Trash Free Trails. Diolch to sponsor @carolynthomasms.bsky.social for sponsoring & @huwirrancadaviesms.bsky.social for speaking!

Exchange for change! Brilliant to see the name and logo launch for the deposit return scheme across Scotland, England and Northern Ireland today - a vital step forward following years of campaigning by @mcsuk.bsky.social and others! #DepositReturnScheme #CircularEconomy

For a more indepth dive into our policy on deposit return schemes, you can find our policy paper here -> s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/media.mcsuk....

Everywhere that has a deposit return scheme (DRS) has less litter - so of course we are big fans! If you are a fan of DRS then why not join our DRS Fanclub? www.mcsuk.org/ocean-emerge...

Deposit Return Scheme Fan Club

This page highlights organisations and community groups who are also excited for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) to begin; helping to reduce litter in the environment, increase recycling rates and mov...

mcsuk.org

Brilliant piece by Nada Farhoud on learnings from Denmark and Latvia to help the UK move towards a circular economy. We're excited for the UK to join Denmark and Latvia in having a deposit return scheme for bottles and cans in October 2027 1/3 👇

UK must learn from the world's first city-wide reuseable cup scheme

In Aarhus, Denmark a successful scheme which collects and washes cups for a small deposit has stopped more than one million so far from being binned

mirror.co.uk

Huge thanks to our speakers from @scottishgreens.org @scotlibdems.org.uk @snp.org and Scottish Labour, and all the delegates who attended @seascotland.bsky.social's first ever Ocean Hustings on Monday! It was great to share ideas on how we can bring our seas back to health. @youth4seas.bsky.social

Thanks so much @seascotland.bsky.social for giving me a chance to talk about my love of the ocean and how we should be looking after our local marine spaces! 🌊

Sea Scotland@seascotland.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Councillor Sanne Dijkstra-Downie from Liberal Democrats highlights they want science led and supported by coastal communities. They have to have a stake and a say in what happens - government should work with and not against communities empowering them to be stewards of their own marine environment.