FINLANDS SJÖFART J SUOMEN MERENKULKU 47
GreenSeas Trust – binning
plastics on the beach
Fazilette Khan has spent much of her working life
thinking about marine waste management. Of her
30 years as a seafarer and Nautilus member, she
spent nearly half as an environmental officer on
cruiseships. And since coming ashore for good last year,
she has devoted herself to the GreenSeas Trust, the
UK-based environmental charity she founded in 2002.
The charity actually came about before the shipboard
environmental job, Fazilette explains: ‘I was still working
as a radio officer when I happened to go on holiday to
Tobago and noticed how much rubbish people were
dropping on the beaches and in the sea, especially plastic
waste. I just had to do something about it, to help the
country where my mum came from, so I worked out a plan
to get local support for a cleanup. I thought people would
take me more seriously if I was from a charity, so I
registered the GreenSeas Trust in memory of my mum,
Haida Khan.’
With Fazilette’s energy and fierce determination behind
the cleanup project, the beaches of Tobago were soon
looking much better. The solution wasn’t difficult, she
stresses: ‘We just had to put bins on the beaches! An oil
company donated oil drums to turn into bins, and local
volunteers helped me paint them so they’d be attractive
and eye-catching.’
The GreenSeas Trust persuaded the local authorities to
empty the bins regularly and start a recycling programme
for much of the waste. Fazilette and her volunteers also
carried out educational work to encourage local people to
use the bins. ‘I remember we went into a school once in
Tobago and this 14-year-old girl was very resistant to our
message until she realised that her own future work
prospects in tourism would be affected by dirty beaches
and seas. It was like a light going on. Whether it’s tourism,
fishing or shipping, everybody who makes a living from the
sea is harmed by pollution.’
With shipping companies phasing out the role of radio
officer, Fazilette was in need of a new job, and her experi-ence
with the GreenSeas Trust made her a good fit for one
of the recently-created environmental officer posts at
Princess Cruises. The work involved processing and
disposing correctly of all shipboard waste, from engine oil
and used cooking fat to general garbage. Fazilette organ-ised
recycling and re-use wherever possible, and even
found charities ashore to take her vessel’s discarded
mattresses.
Meanwhile, she was still working on volunteer projects
with the GreenSeas Trust during her shore leave, including
an initiative in the French resort of Cannes to persuade
tourists not to leave cigarette butts on the beach. ‘People
think cigarettes are biodegradable, but they’re not,
because they have plastic in their filters. We gave out
leaflets to tell people about this, along with free portable
beach ashtrays supplied by the local council.’
The latest GreenSeas initiative has been to run a
competition for product design students at the University
of East London to come up with a special bin for use on
British beaches. The BinForGreenSeas project is support-ed
by Arun District Council on the south coast of England,
and sponsored by waste contractor Biffa.
The competition winner, announced in January this
year, was Laura Monica Carusato, with a design based on
the funnels of classic ocean liners. ‘We wanted something
distinctive and fun to use, and Laura’s design really fitted
the bill,’ says Fazilette.
Laura adds: ‘It’s designed so people don’t just place or
drop plastic waste in the bin, they throw it in, so it
becomes something children and adults can enjoy, like
playing basketball.’
The next stage of the BinForGreenSeas project is to get
the eye-catching waste receptacles mass-produced and out
to as many of Britain’s busy beaches as possible. A suitable
factory has been identified by the GreenSeas team, and
many coastal councils around the UK are interested in
maintaining and emptying the bins, but the project needs
more sponsors to come onboard.
‘We’ll be approaching shipping companies soon,’ says
Fazilette, ‘and there are multiple benefits from getting
involved. As well as joining the essential effort to keep
waste plastics out of the sea, they can gain wider public
recognition for their brand, as sponsors’ names will appear
on the bins. Individuals can donate too, and every contri-bution
will help; I firmly believe that what each one of us
does creates a ripple effect that can change the world.’ •
To find more about the GreenSeas Trust and enquire
about becoming a sponsor of the BinForGreenSeas project,
visit www.greenseas.org or email info@greenseas.org A
E BinForGreenSeas design competition winner Laura Monica
Carusato (centre) flanked by the judging panel, L-R: Darren
Wingrove, project manager at Logoplaste Innovation Lab;
Biffa business development manager Karen Sherwood;
Fazilette Khan, founding trustee of the GreenSeas Trust;
Edina Seiben, GreenSeas Trust project coordinator.
G Laura Monica Carusato’s
winning design for the BinFor-
GreenSeas competition.
G Volunteers from the
GreenSeas Trust giving out
leaflets and portable beach
ashtrays in Cannes.
/www.greenseas.org
link