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Arrochar Beach Plastic Update

  • Writer: ERS Remediation
    ERS Remediation
  • 5 days ago
  • 2 min read
An aerial drone shot of the end of Loch Long and the beach by Arrochar village, in-between two hills.

Following the successful implementation of ERS' mobile plastic screening technology at the beach in Arrochar as part of the Civtech Challenge, our Technical Director, Dr Tom Aspray, was invited to give an update on the treatment trial. A copy of the video will be provided below.


What was the issue at Arrochar/Loch Long?

Due to the action of wind and tides, plastic litter (much of it coming down the River Clyde from Glasgow) has been accumulating at the beach at the end of Loch Long by the village of Arrochar for decades. The local community and Argyll and Bute Council have been removing the plastic contaminated seaweed and landfilling it, but this is very expensive, is not sustainable and also removes the seaweed from the natural environment, where it is a habitat for many beach organisms.

A close-up of the driftwood and seaweed on the beach, heavily contaminated with small plastic pieces.

An Overview of ERS' Solution

ERS designed a skimming system to remove the plastic from the water before it reached the beach. The target was to remove microplastics (e.g. beads, nurdles) and slightly larger mesoplastics (e.g. bottle caps) as larger items can be more easily removed by existing volunteer-led litter picks. The mobile skimmers were successful and were able to remove the majority of plastic pieces from the water before they reached the beach.

A hand holding a petri-dish which has been used to collect some of the plastic pieces separated from water by the skimming system.

What Does That Mean in Terms of Environmental Impact Reduction?

The previous solution of excavating all the plastic contaminated seaweed and sending it to landfill was expensive and had a high CO2e per tonne due to transportation via road and release of methane from decomposing seaweed in landfill. As ERS' solution left the seaweed in-situ on the beach and only targeted the plastic, this led to an 80% reduction in disposal costs, a 98% reduction in CO2e and 91% fewer lorry loads travelling along the small, rural roads.

A screenshot of the Demo Day presentation showing green bubbles with some stats: 80% cost reduction, 98% CO2e reduction and 91% fewer lorries.

What are the Next Steps?

Following the successful trial of the new technology, ERS is submitting a patent for the technology and is looking for similar contaminated sites where litter is mixed with non-litter material in coastal areas, on rivers, canals and inland water bodies. (If your organisation is responsible for a beach/water body and would like to organise a trial, please get in touch with Tom tom@ersremediation.com).

For more information on the trial, take a look at Civtech's video of Tom giving his presentation at the 2026 Challenge Demo Day:



 
 
 

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