New plastic recycling bin installed on Whitley Bay seafront
A new recycling bin has been installed at Whitley Bay’s Spanish City with the aim to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean.
Donated by GreenSeas Trust, the bin is the first to be installed on the North East coast, helping tackle the 700,000 plastic bottles that are littered every day across the UK.
Cllr Sandra Graham, cabinet member for Environment, said: “We are thrilled to have been donated this wonderful new recycling bin for the borough. It’s a great addition to our coastline, and hopefully it will be well used to help protect our seas.
“Single-use plastics create avoidable waste and the detrimental impact and damage to the environment and wildlife is huge. All-year round the Council, as well as community-spirited residents and local businesses, clear thousands of tonnes of rubbish, including plastic bottles, left on North Tyneside’s beaches.
“I would urge everyone to recycle where possible and reduce the number of single-use plastics they buy – like plastic water bottles, shopping bags and disposable coffee cups. A huge thanks to GreenSeas Trust and everyone who has been involved in helping contribute to keeping our coastline clean and tidy.”
The iconic orange bin represents a life buoy, and can be used for all PET plastic waste, including single-use plastic bottles.
Fazilette Khan, Founder Trustee of GreenSeas Trust charity, said: “Marine plastic is smothering the ocean floor and contributing to climate change. Educating the public about the adverse effects of plastics on our planet is an urgent priority. We hope the ‘nudge effect’ from the graphics and text on our BinForGreenSeas will bring about long-term behavioural change.”
The aim of GreenSeas Trust is to educate, promote and implement environmental programmes to eliminate plastics entering the seas and coastal areas, ensuring marine life and fish stocks are sustainable for future generations. Find out more about what they do at www.greenseas.org
Marine Park First School’s Green Council attended the unveiling and dropped the first plastic bottle in the bin. Stephen Easton, headteacher of Marine Park First School, said: “Today was a fantastic opportunity for local children to meet and talk with a charity organisation making a real change to our environment. Our pupils asked some really important questions and gained some great insight into the problems caused by single-use plastic. The Green Council are already very interested and proactive about protecting our environment and this will inspire and motivate them to do even more in the future.”
The installation of the BinForGreenSeas forms part of the Council’s focus to reduce single-use plastics in the borough, which has seen almost 20 public water fountains installed by the local authority, and its ambitions to work towards being carbon net zero by 2030.