Turning beach plastic into something beautiful

Chris Marshall not only makes jewellery from ocean plastic – he runs Refill Hunstanton and Hunstanton Beach Wombles, too. But ask him if he is something of an eco-ambassador for the town and he’ll just say he’s ‘doing his bit’ for the environment

Working in hospitality everything was very uncertain at the start of the pandemic, with no idea of when/if I would be able to return to work.

We started collecting litter off the beach on our family walks. I was surprised at how much we collected, most of which was un-recyclable. So instead of sending it to landfill I started to think of ideas of how to reuse the litter we collected, after many different ideas and failed attempts Norfolk Coastal Jewellery was created.

After seeing the amount of litter we collected, I started to think how I could help to reduce the issue. I started up Hunstanton Wombles to try to encourage other people to collect litter while out on their walks – and organise beach cleans which is where Plastic Free Hunstanton came into the picture. It’s an organisation set up by Surfers Against Sewage, who were able to help with resources and equipment to organise safe beach cleans and help spread the word to local businesses on how to reduce plastic in their own businesses. I later took over Refill Hunstanton from the previous coordinator who no longer had the time to put into it. This fell in place nicely as it promotes using reusable bottles instead of single use plastic bottles.

I am just trying to do my bit for the environment and advice and help others to do the same. If everyone makes a small change, we can help save the planet.

Plastic will stick around in the environment for ever, threatening wildlife and spreading toxins. Plastic also contributes to global warming (almost all plastics are made from chemicals that come from the production of planet-warming fuels like gas, oil and even coal). So, what better time to champion plastic free living?

We are in the process of setting up a refill station for household cleaning products which will be available at a new indoor Market in Hunstanton which we will be hosting. We are also proud to have been nominated by our customers for a England Business Award. You can vote for us by visiting englandsbusinessawards.co.uk/norfolk/.

More information on all the initiatives can be found on Norfolk Coastal Jewellery & Eco Products

www.norfolk-coastal-jewellery-and-eco-products.com/