Nature enthusiasts are being encouraged to find novel uses for the rubbish they collect from a scenic stretch of the north-east coastline.
Staff at Forvie National Nature Reserve want people to re-use some of the marine litter they pluck from the sand rather than consigning it all to landfill.
Every year, tonnes of rubbish is cleared from the beach at Forvie, and plenty of the material could easily be reused or made into something useful.
Staff at Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) have now taken steps to repurpose some of the washed up litter.
Fish boxes have been turned into storage boxes or planters, rope transformed into scratching poles for cats, netting has been used to support climbing plants and plastic containers used as buckets.
There are also items available for re-use as found, including footballs, trays – and even an inflatable flamingo and a stair banister.
David Pickett, Forvie reserve manager, said: “We’re grateful for the huge amount of help from the public to clean rubbish from the beach at Forvie – this is so important for the health of our marine wildlife. But it is only a part of the solution.
“Every item that is re-used from the beach means one fewer item into landfill and fewer new things purchased.
“We would like to challenge everyone to see what they make with the nets, ropes, floats, and containers.
“We know there are lots of creative people out there and can’t wait to see all the innovative uses.”
Crawford Paris is delivering a marine litter initiative for East Grampian Coastal Partnership.
He added: “We are thrilled to be working in partnership with the staff at Forvie to help tackle the marine litter that is sadly making its way onto the reserve.
“Over the last few months, we have been able to direct efforts to certain areas that were in much need of a clean and the results of the hard-working volunteers have been staggering.
“The challenge we now face is coming up ways to breathe new life into this diverse collection of objects which are now being stored at the reserve centre.”
