A team of 705 volunteers for Keep Bermuda Beautiful (KBB) scoured the beaches and coastline last weekend for the charity's annual Marine Clean Up.

The volunteers fanned out to 25 locations across the Island and cleaned up over 12 tonnes of litter, KBB executive director Lennox Boodram announced yesterday.

Beer bottles again topped the "dirty dozen" list of items collected, KBB organisers said, with aluminium cans closely behind.

The Marine section of the Bermuda Police Service collected 1,775 beer bottles and over 1,000 cans to fill 80 blue bags in Barr's Bay alone, Mr. Boodram pointed out.

"As residents of this island paradise we must collectively make a concerted effort to generate less waste and to dispose of what we create in a responsible manner."

While volunteer numbers at the clean up were down from the 980 persons who participated last year, Mr. Boodram said volunteers collected more trash on average per person.

Over 12 tonnes were collected this year against 12.5 tonnes last year with the extra bodies.

Volunteers "were concerned enough about the rapid devastation of our environment, to give up their Saturday leisure time", Mr. Boodram said in praising those who participated.

"I urge all of our residents to take an active role in helping to keep it this way."

For the first time this year, KBB partnered with a Government Ministry in addition to its corporate sponsors.

A Works and Engineering crew led by Alan Hunt removed all the waste that the KBB volunteers collected, KBB said.

In addition to the many bottles and cans, participants collected car batteries, lawn furniture, PVC pipe, pieces of cloth and many bulky waste items.

"Bermuda is rapidly heading into a litter crisis," Mr. Boodram warned yesterday. "Unless the is a unified approach taken our future generations may never be able to enjoy that beauty that we know today."