The Week Junior - UK (2022-04-23)

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A

scheme to reduce plastic waste on beaches

has been launched in 25 coastal areas across

England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The idea is

to cut the number of polystyrene bodyboards that

are left on beaches by letting beachgoers borrow

wooden belly boards instead – for free.

Polystyrene is a cheap form of plastic

that is very light but breaks into

tiny flakes. The scheme, called

Surf Wood for Good will be

offering the environmentally

friendly wooden boards from

now until October.

Polystyrene boards for

body surfing are a worsening

problem on the UK’s beaches.

Although some people take their

boards home with them, many

just leave them behind at the end of a

holiday. A report by the charity Keep Britain

Tidy found that more than 16,000 polystyrene

bodyboards are left on UK beaches every year.

Polystyrene bodyboards are not made to last and

they soon break apart, leaving lots of tiny polystyrene

crumbs in the sea and on beaches, where they can

harm wildlife. They are often made abroad too, so the

production and transport of the boards adds to their

harmful environmental impact. Last year, single-use

plastic board sales were banned in North Devon

in south-west England, to cut waste on

beaches and in the sea.

The man who thought up

the wooden board project is

Jamie Johnstone, who saw a

lot of broken plastic boards

left at his local beach in

Newquay, Cornwall, last

summer. He said that when

he started making boards,

he “wanted to make a version

that lasts forever”, from natural

materials that won’t harm the

environment. The wooden boards are

available to borrow for free from shops close

to the beach. Each of the 25 sites has a selection of

wooden bellyboards. Have a look at tinyurl.com/

TWJ-bellyboards to find places where you can borrow

a board and have some fun in the waves.

“Hungry javelina, trapped in car,

goes for a drive in Arizona” The Guardian

Wooden bellyboards for UK beaches

Covid volunteers join NHS

H

ealth officials have said that 11,483 people who

worked as Covid volunteers during the pandemic

have started paid jobs in the NHS. When the Covid-

vaccine programme started in December 2020, more

than 100,000 people offered to help NHS staff. Many

volunteers were so inspired that they changed jobs to

work with the NHS. Chloe Radley, who swapped life

as a make-up artist for work with the NHS, told The

Guardian newspaper, “I find the work so rewarding.”

The wooden

bellyboards.

THE WEEK’S SILLIEST HEADLINE

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Ducks waddle through school

A

group of ducklings and their mother have

waddled through Bromley High School, in London

• something that happens at around this time every
  year. The mother duck laid her eggs in the school’s
  courtyard during the winter. After they hatched,
  she led the ducklings through the school towards a
  nearby lake. Receptionist, Natalie Devon, said she’s
  lucky to have “little flipper feet” going past her desk.
  “It’s lovely to be part of their journey,” she added.

Art prize list announced

T

he Turner Prize, one of the UK’s most respected

prizes for art, has announced its list of possible

winners. The list includes The End by artist Heather

Phillipson, a sculpture of a giant dollop of whipped

cream, topped with a cherry, a drone and a fly. The

artwork is on the fourth plinth (the base of a statue)

in Trafalgar Square in London. The other artists on the

list are Ingrid Pollard, Veronica Ryan and Sin Wai Kin.

The winner will be announced in December.

Plastic boards

pollute oceans.

The duck family

at school.

The End

sculpture.

Covid helpers

become paid staff.

UK news

23 April 2022 • The Week Junior