Surfers Against Sewage Beach Clean

Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is a not-for profit environmental pressure group focused on the protection of the UK’s oceans, waves and beaches for all to access, use and enjoy safely and sustainably, via campaigning, volunteering, conservation, education and scientific research. Here is a video that really does sum up their work to a key, lots of volunteers cleaning up a beach on a wet, miserable day - but still loads of happy people doing a great job to keep the UK's beaches clean!


SAS were founded in 1990 by a group of surfers, who were literally ‘sick of getting sick’ through repeated ear, nose, throat and gastric infections after going in the sea. Forming a local group they set about taking grassroots action to stop the sewage pollution at their local surf breaks in Cornwall.

SAS has been a major catalyst in the virtual elimination of continuous sewage discharges that were so prevalent when we started back in 1990. This has seen water quality improve greatly in many areas, and helped us all have a cleaner, safer experience in the sea all around the UK.

BUT, but there is still a lot to be done on all the environmental issues SAS work on, including sewage. In many cases, such as marine litter, climate change, offshore development, toxic chemicals and shipping there is even more to be done than back 1990. And the recent worrying developments highlighting UK water companies abuse of combined sewer overflows as a means to regularly discharge raw sewage into our rivers and onto our beaches means that the sewage issues still exists, albeit in a slightly different guise.