A rubbish-eating shark, an umbrella jellyfish with carrier bag tentacles and a ceramic seal caught in discarded plastic packaging were just some of the artworks on show at an environment-themed exhibition hosted by pupils at Sheringham Primary School.
The show, which also included collages, posters, videos and written presentations warning of the threat to the planet of single use plastics, was the result of a collaboration with Sheringham Plastic Aware (SPA) group, whose work will shortly result in the town being awarded Surfers Against Sewage plastic-free coastline status.
Since being set up by a team of town councillors, the group has launched a series of initiatives, including hosting talks on recycling and launching a plastic-free champions scheme which has seen awards being handed out to more than a dozen local businesses for their efforts in cutting down on single use plastics.
At Sheringham Primary, members of a SPA junior group were last month presented with a town council community award for their work on reducing waste in school, which has included carrying out a single use plastic survey in classrooms and writing to letters to school meals contractors Norse, which resulted in the company switching from using individual ice cream tubs with plastic spoons, to dishing out ice cream from catering-sized tubs.
The school has also become a drop-off station for the TerraCycle recycling scheme, taking delivery of two bright yellow wheelie bins which pupils, parents and school visitors will be asked to fill with empty crisp packets and used biros and felt tip pens.
A partnership with crisp makers Walkers, the scheme has more than 14,000 collection points across the UK and Ireland, with waste either turned into plastic pellets which are used to make other products or 'upcycled' into products ranging from backpacks made from stitched together juice cartons, to shoes made from crisp packets.
Sheringham Primary deputy head Sue Brady said the school's focus on recycling and reducing waste had made pupils and their families think more carefully about how much of what they use goes into landfill.
She added: "The children have put a huge amount of effort into the work they have produced, which just goes to show how much they have taken the message on board, and what we want now is for everybody to know that they can come to school to drop off their pens and crisp packets."
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