A sea life sculpture, composed of recycled materials, was displayed in North Tyneside schools and libraries as part of an effort to promote recycling in the borough.
The wire fish sculpture, named Freda, was built by a local environmental ‘planet group’ of Soroptimists: Linda Johnson, Judy Donnelly, Wynn Hetherington, Karen Lapworth and Sandra Quick. The body of the sculpture is made up of all the single-use plastic used by the group’s members in one day. The use of non-recyclable materials was intended to bring awareness to the types of litter that cannot be recycled and to try to reduce the use of single-use plastics in the borough.
In an aim to raise the profile of recycling in North Tyneside, the Soroptimist’s sculpture went on display in local schools, libraries and council buildings in September.
As part of the council’s campaign to work towards being Carbon Net Zero by 2030, information stands appeared in various locations across the borough, and assemblies were held in a number of North Tyneside schools. The public display of ‘Freda’ thus served as part of a wider effort by the council to encourage people to recycle whenever possible and to raise awareness of the impact litter has on marine life if not disposed of properly.
The creators of the sculpture, Soroptimist International, are a worldwide volunteer service organisation for women working for peace, and to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities. The charity tackles five key Programme Areas as part of their project work; the third being environmental sustainability.
Linda Johnson, a member of the group, said “We asked members to bring one day’s worth of single-use plastic; it really brought home how much is used daily.
“As Soroptimists we work towards 17 Sustainable Development Goals. This highlighted the need to reduce our use of single-use plastic, working towards goals 13 and 14” (Climate action and Life below the water).
All of the projects undertaken by the group work towards larger goals, including preserving the environment. As such, the composure of this sculpture serves to showcase the group’s commitment to the environmental cause, as well as highlight how members of the community can get involved through recycling.
Cllr Sandra Graham, cabinet member for Environment, said “The council has been making strides towards achieving environmental sustainability for some time, but it has always been a larger goal to engage the community with their own efforts too.
“It takes a collective effort to successfully confront the climate crisis; people may need to change longstanding habits to make a positive difference, so I welcome any effort made to draw public attention to and generate interest in the cause.
“The sculpture crafted by the Soroptimists was an amazing way to bring attention to environmental sustainability and encourage our residents to do their part in the fight against the climate crisis. It also complements our wonderful seal sculpture, which is also made of single-use plastics and tours the borough’s coastline to raise awareness.”
The sculpture served not only to bring awareness of the importance of recycling, but moreover how people in the borough can do so. Markedly, retailers such as Tesco and Co-op offer easily accessible soft plastic recycling programmes; ASDA offers recycle bins in 450 of their stores. It is the hope that those who engaged with the sculpture will go on to remember and make use of the various recycling programmes available in the borough, and practice recycling at home.
Full details of the work carried out by the Soroptimist International can be found on their website.
Further information on what the council has been doing to combat the climate crisis, including the ambitious plan to be Carbon Net Zero by 2030, can be found here.