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Would a silent disco help you pick more litter?

Litter-picker listening to songs and dancingImage source, National Trust Images/Sophie Bolesworth
Image caption,

The Silent Disco Beach Clean in Woolacombe, Devon, got people dancing along to the litter-pick!

Imagine if there was a way to combine party music with helping to protect wildlife?

Well that's the reality for a beach cleaning team in Devon, who have created a litter-picking silent disco.

Organisers at Woolacombe beach have been handing out headphones so helpers can listen to the same songs together, whilst picking up litter!

They say that the number of volunteers helping out on the monthly cleans has increased ever since the organisers introduced this musical twist on a traditional beach clean!

Which songs would help you pick up the most litter? Let us know in the comments below!

Image source, National Trust Images/Sophie Bolesworth
Image caption,

Some of the litter that was found by volunteers on the Silent Disco Beach Clean in Devon

One of the aims of the silent disco litter-pick is to attract new volunteers and younger people.

More than 100 volunteers turned up to one of the beach-cleans, with locals and people on holiday joining in.

The monthly cleans are really important to make the beach a safer place for marine wildlife such as puffins, dolphins and seals.

Image source, Getty Images
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Dolphins are spotted around Devon and can be impacted by plastic, from rubbish, getting into the ocean

Litter is a big problem on beaches and in the countryside.

On Woolacombe beach in Devon, the most common material washed up is plastic. 90% of rubbish collected from the beach during 2019 was plastic or polystyrene.

North Devon National Trust ranger Fraser Goodfellow says tackling rubbish on the beaches across the UK is vital, adding "cleaning up our coastline has never been more important."