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Islanders are being encouraged to attend a beach clean held by local disability charity Les Amis to celebrate World Environment Day next week.
The clean – which will be taking place on Monday 5 June – is open to all Les Amis residents as well as members of the public, and hopes to clear Ouaisné beach of as much plastic waste as possible.
The clean is taking place as part of the United Nations World Environment Day, which this year is aiming to encourage people to to tackle plastic pollution.
As well as the clean-up efforts, the team from Plastic Free Jersey will be in attendance to teach islanders how to use their 'nurdle-ator' – a machine built by the non-profit organisation Nurdle which helps to shift micro-plastics out of sand.
To create a sense of friendly competition, Les Amis staff will be running a game of 'beach clean bingo'.
There will be a list of items – such as aluminium cans or driftwood – that those taking part will have to collect in order to be in with a chance of winning a prize at the end of the day. The prize is yet to be confirmed.
Ending plastic pollution will bring a massive payoff for people & the planet.
— UN Environment Programme (@UNEP) June 1, 2023
This #WorldEnvironmentDay, show appreciation for those working towards solutions to #BeatPlasticPollution & call out those who need to do better.
Find out how to get involved: https://t.co/w8qkCBC14J
At the end of the session, the collected plastic will be used to create a piece of beach art in the sand. Specifically, organisaers are hoping to replicate the slogan for the day: '#PlasticFreeSea'.
Alex Black, the Head of the Les Amis Maintenance Team, said that, by the end of the day, the "residents will not only have had a positive impact on keeping the beach clean, but they'll also have something tangible at the end to just to show to for their hard work".
The charity is also using this as an opportunity to promote their own recycling enterprise. Led by the charity's maintenance team, The Les Amis Recycling Service collects and recycles the island's used cooking oil, which is then exported to the UK for use in biofuel.
Pictured: Alex Black, the Head of the Maintenance Team, in action at the Les Amis recycling centre.
The service is free to local businesses and all income goes directly to pay the wages of those of residents who work on the recycling team.
Since the recycling service started in 2018, the team have collected and recycled over 800 tons (800,000 litres) of commercial cooking oil from local businesses.
Yenni Kusumo, the Head of Charitable Income & Partnerships at Les Amis, said: "The underlying message is about visibility. Our residents, while they've got learning disabilities and associated conditions, are part of our community and they're not to be kind of just sheltered away in their own little communities and housing.
"Disability doesn't mean inability, they are out there doing things like oil recycling, and helping change the world in any small way that they can.
"So doing beach cleans or things like that is another example of that can-do attitude."
The beach clean will be taking place at Ouaisné beach from 9:00 to 14:00 on Monday 5 June.
For more information about Les Amis, or to donate, you can click HERE.
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