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Guernsey children design marine-themed bins for beaches

More than 600 school children took part in a competition to design bins to reduce the amount of plastic entering the marine ecosystem.

Finance firm Suntera Global launched the Fill a Fish initiative on the Isle of Man in 2022.

Since then, more than 80,000 plastic bottles have been collected from the island’s beaches.

The initiative has now expanded to Guernsey, with primary school children asked to design giant marine-themed bins for local beaches.

A panel of judges selected the winners:

  • Olivia Marsh, aged five, from La Houguette Primary School
  • Sienna Le Page, aged six, from La Mare de Carteret Primary School
  • Sibbie O’Hara, aged 8, from Forest Primary School
  • Ben Chesters, aged 9, from Castel Primary School

Their designs will now be brought to life by engineering and creative arts students at The Guernsey Institute, with support from local artist Mark Cook.

The bins are expected to be positioned in permanent homes around Guernsey’s coastline next year.

Paul Bugden from the Clean Earth Trust says the majority of litter on local beaches is plastic.

“We are thrilled to have worked on this initiative with Suntera Global and to see so many children engage with protecting our local environment.

"Our latest Marine Litter Report found that in Guernsey, just over 82% of rubbish collected from our beaches is plastic.

"This directly harms wildlife and introduces microplastics to the food chain and atmosphere, whilst also contributing to climate change.

"It is vital that we reduce plastic consumption and encourage greater recycling so we can all continue enjoying our beautiful coastline.”

 

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