Anti-litter campaigners who collected 11 tons of rubbish in four hours are warning: "Bermuda is becoming a major trash zone.'' Keep Bermuda Beautiful yesterday unveiled the results of its first coastal and marine clean-up for the US-based Centre for Marine Conservation.

More than 350 volunteers took part in the four-hour operation on September 20.

And KBB's top members last night warned Bermuda could become drowned under a deluge of trash unless attitudes change.

They want more of the Island's residents to use blue recycling bags with their weekly trash.

Garbage trucks collect blue bags full of recyclable materials like glass and aluminium cans every week.

The Devon Springs recycling plant already compacts around 20,000 cans a day to be recycled in the USA.

But KBB President Scott Kitson warned that was not enough after revealing the findings of the September survey.

He said: "More than 11 tons of debris were collected. We are appalled at what the results from our 1997 survey tell us.

"The fact that recyclabe materials represent greater than 30 percent of what our volunteers are finding on our streets, coasts and in the underwater environment is unacceptable.

"If all Bermuda's residents would come together and recycle whenever possible, we could have a dramatic positive impact on our environment.'' He said that meant more people needed to collect their cans and bottles in blue trash bags for recycling.

Volunteers in the clean-up, which concentrated on 18 sites around Bermuda, each collected an average 69 pounds of litter and marine debris.

KBB's "data-detectives'', who kept the records, counted 5,283 pieces of litter.

More than 1,000 bottles were found, 700 bottle caps, almost 600 pieces of glass and around 450 bits of plastic. Volunteers also picked up more than 150 aluminium cans.

Mr. Kitson said the clean-up areas were on beaches, in other coastal areas, under water and inland.

And he added that 80 percent of all worldwide marine pollution came from litter dropped on land and blown to the coast.

He added: "Marine debris is responsible for killing marine organisms of all sizes.

"Whales have been killed by ingesting small plastic bags. Once the food chain is affected, there is no telling what damage will be done to our fragile reef environment and obviously our fish stocks.'' The survey found that John Smith's Bay, frequently raked and cleaned, was covered in "astounding amounts of plastic''.

Now the findings will be passed on to the Centre for Marine Conservation, to be used in a worldwide study om litter habits.

The results will be revealed in December, 1998 as part of the United Nations "Year of the Oceans'' campaign to analyse ocean dumping procedures.

ENVIRONMENT ENV