#BottleShipsGY moor up at their final destinations

Three new permanent #BottleShipsGY art installations have been installed in Great Yarmouth, Hemsby and Gorleston aimed at encouraging beachgoers to dispose of their plastic drinks bottles correctly, preventing them from entering the sea.

Each ship has been designed by artists Hatty + Young and has been inspired by vessels that form part of our proud maritime history, featuring plaques with historic information on each ship. Great Yarmouth Jetty saw the arrival of HMS Elephant, the Lydia Eva landed in Gorleston and Hemsby pays homage to its lifeboat, Sea Weaver. The BottleShips will fill with plastic bottles which will be collected for recycling.

The ship launches follow on from earlier work in March, when local school pupils were recruited to raise awareness of plastic pollution by collecting empty drinks bottles. These were then used to build a prototype 'BottleShip' in St. George's Park, as part of the Paint the Town Festival.

BottleShips is part of a wider project delivered by Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Norfolk County Council, called FACET, an Interreg 2Seas project funded by the European Regional Development Fund. FACET supports businesses in the tourism and leisure sector to adopt circular economy principles that reduce waste along with seeking to influence positive behaviour change.

Cllr Paul Wells, chairman of the Environment committee, said: "This project has been a great opportunity for school children and residents in the borough to get educated in how they can reduce plastic pollution, whilst also helping to the build of an installation which will be enjoyed by the entire community."