Caister beach cleaner's playful idea to tackle litter
Volunteers ready for a previous beach clean at Caister beach. - Credit: Emma Sturman
A passionate beach cleaner has built a communal toy box for Caister beach using recycled buckets and spades found on the beach.
Emma Sturman, 33 and from Caister, has been organising Norfolk Beach Cleans for over a year. In that time, she and a crew of volunteers have collected over 1,170kgs of items left by visitors.
Emma Sturman, an electrical design engineer, wants to preserve our beaches and sea for everyone to enjoy. - Credit: Emma Sturman
Of that amount, abandoned toys have been a common sight. As many of the toys were still in good condition, Mrs Sturman said she "didn't want to just chuck them away".
Using recycled wooden pallets, Mrs Sturman built a communal toy box for left-behind buckets and spades. Now, other children and families can make good use of them when taking a trip to the beach.
The toy box was installed by Caister Lifeboat on Wednesday.
BORROW, PLAY, RETURN: The new toy box, based by Caister Lifeboat, is there for everyone to use. - Credit: Emma Sturman
While on a beach clean on Saturday, Mrs Sturman said she saw a mother and her two children returning items to the box.
"It's nice to see it being used already," Mrs Sturman said.
Mrs Sturman said the idea has garnered a lot of positive support online and she would like to make more for other beaches in the area.
