Surfers Against Sewage

Surfers Against Sewage is a community dedicated to the protection of oceans, waves, beaches and wildlife. They fight long and hard to protect what we love and we won’t stop until it’s completely clean, safe and protected for everyone, forever. From humble beginnings in Porthtowan Village Hall in 1990, they've stayed close to their roots and continue to be based just up the road from their St Agnes HQ where they can keep a close eye on the sea. Just 12 people work in the office full time, but it’s really thanks to the public who support our work through membership donations, volunteering, signing petitions, buying from our shop and spreading the word that allows our impact to be widely felt.

We began as a response by the surfing community to the dreadful state of our beaches. Those hardy souls who ventured into the water back then often found themselves swimming in raw sewage. There’s tales of sanitary towels on heads and human poo sandwiched between bodies and boards. Completely unacceptable. The campaign grew loud, proud and strong and thanks to the passion and perseverance of our members — the UK now enjoys some of the cleanest beaches in Europe. Of course it’s not just surfers who care passionately about our coastlines — our members are swimmers, dog walkers, paddleboarders, beach cleaners, kite surfers, sandcastle builders, ice cream eaters and sun bathers too. We protect it because we love it and that’s where we feel most at home.

We’ll always care about Water Quality issues and our Safer Seas Service continually monitors sewage spills in real time on beaches around the UK. But ‘Plastic is the new sewage’ as it is now the biggest threat to our beaches, our precious marine eco-system and our happiness.

www.sas.org.uk