Quality Street tubs to sunglasses. DVD covers to pot plants. Bottle tops to bowls.
They all have one thing in common, and that is that one form of plastic is going to be recycled into another, all to provide work and training for Islanders who have a disability or long-term health condition. The social enterprise Acorn is now appealing to the public to support the venture by providing the raw materials for the project that will get under way in earnest in the new year.
Acorn Training & Development Co-ordinator Martin Jeanne has been instrumental in getting the project off the ground. “In 2024 we started working on a Future-Fit model to see where we could make improvements and be more sustainable,” he said. “We identified the need to reuse more plastics, repurposing it into a new form, which has a use and can be sold, to generate further income.
“Thanks to grant funding from Butterfield Charitable Trust, we have invested in three new machines and several moulds. We refurbish bikes, we recycle scrap metal, and now the plastic recycling is the next step. It will provide a variety of opportunities for clients helping sort plastic into different colours, washing the plastic and melting it into various shapes.”
Acorn already has thousands of DVD covers to repurpose. Now, the social firm is appealing to the public to donate plastic bottle tops and chocolate tubs (Quality Street, Roses, Celebrations and Roses are all appropriate).
The Coop, who will sell over 15,000 tubs in the last three months of the year, are supporting the initiative by having collection points for chocolate tubs at their Grand Marché stores in St Helier and St Peter. The Coop Community Fund has also supported the project by funding a 3D printer and filament maker.
Carl Winn, Head of Community and Sustainability at CI Coop said: “We’re proud to support Acorn’s innovative plastic recycling initiative, which not only helps reduce waste but also creates meaningful opportunities for Islanders living with disabilities or long-term health conditions. By providing collection points and funding essential equipment, the Coop is helping turn everyday items like chocolate tubs into something valuable, both environmentally and socially.”
Pictured: Sarah Sleep and Carl Winn from the CI Coop, Danielle Le Cuirot-Dobson from Butterfield Group, and Acorn fundraising lead Georgia Hodgson in the plastics workshop
