The 15 volunteers recorded 502 litter items, 60% were made of plastic or polystyrene and at least one third of the rubbish was from the general public.
Charlotte Wright, corporate social responsibility manager at Elior UK, said: “As a society we are becoming more aware of the impact of single-use plastics and other litter. But initiatives like our beach cleans remind us that further progress is needed to educate consumers and shape operational best practices for businesses.
“What the team found was truly eye-opening for a small 100m stretch of beach, and we hope that our findings encourage and inspire others to adopt new attitudes to waste.”
The beach clean was organised in partnership with the Marine Conservation Society, which aims to keep the sea healthy. This initiative is part of Elior’s Positive Footprint Plan focused on tackling single-use plastics, sourcing sustainable ingredients and encouraging a healthy lifestyle.
Lizzie Prior, beachwatch officer at the Marine Conservation Society, added: "This is the second year Elior have helped with removing litter from our beaches and provided litter data by completing our survey - and absolutely crucial part of our Beachwatch programme.
“By recording the litter they found on Talacre beach, MCS can identify the worst offenders and establish the source of the rubbish which helps us continue to push for change at industry and governmental level.
“The Elior team were incredibly enthusiastic and really understood the importance of data collection and how it can make such a huge difference."