Visitors to Portishead’s thriving marina now have a visual reminder of the importance of reducing plastic pollution in our seas and waterways.
Crowds gathered on the quay on Wednesday for the official opening of an innovative plastics recycling bin, to raise awareness of plastic waste and its detrimental effect on marine life.
The bin, the first of its kind in the South West, has been installed by marine conservation charity GreenSeas Trust, as part of its BinForGreenSeas initiative.
MORE: Portishead awarded GreenSeas Trust bin to tackle plastic pollution
The bright orange lifebuoy-shaped bin with the tagline Throw marine life a lifeline has graphics and statistics on the outside with the aim to educate people and spark conversation on the need to reduce the amount of plastic entering our waters.
The bin was officially opened by marathon runner and the founder of the 401 Foundation charity, Ben Smith. Ben, who attracted international headlines after running 401 marathons in as many days for charity in 2016, lives in Portishead overlooking the marina.
He said: “We all need to take responsibility for helping to reduce the amount of plastic being thrown into our seas, and this bin is a great way of raising awareness of how we can all take action to address this in our daily lives.
"Discarding our plastic bottles into this bin will help, but educating people about the problem and how they can all help will have even more impact.”
The official opening of the bin, arranged by GreenSeas Trust founder, Fazilette Khan, who invited Ben to cut the ribbon, was attended by a whole host of people involved in the installation from representatives from Portishead Town Council and North Somerset Council, which will empty the bin, to landowners Persimmon and marina managers BoatFolk.
Local businesses and members of many community groups also looked on as the first plastic bottle was dropped into the bin, while children from Portishead Primary School’s eco group took along posters and signs they had made to raise awareness of the huge problem of plastic pollution.
Fazilette said: “The idea behind the BinForGreenSeas is to help reduce plastic pollution in our seas by educating people in a visual way. It’s not just about the amount of plastic each bin collects, it’s about raising awareness, about getting conversations started on how we can all make small changes to help reduce plastic waste in our seas and improve the environment.”
Portishead is one of only 16 coastal towns in the country earmarked to receive one of the bins from the GreenSeas Trust, over the next two years.
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