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Sarah Burns runs a café with a conscience.
Inspired by the eco-wave sweeping the globe following the shocking scenes of David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, Café des Pas is doing all it can to make a difference on island shores.
The Havre des Pas-based café was an early adopter of the 'rubbish-collection-for-coffee' exchange, whilst also ensuring that as much of its packaging as possible is environmentally-friendly.
On her (compostable cup) coffee break, Sarah took the chance to tell Express five things she would do to improve Jersey… with a green twist…
She told Express the five things she would do to improve Jersey… with a green twist…
Thanks to Blue Planet, we now have awareness of the dangers of plastic.
Pictured: Sarah hopes Café des Pas' eco practices will inspires others to also become aware, accept and change their environmental ways.
However, the main point to get across is: ‘Awareness, Acceptance, Change’. We have to be aware to accept it to make the change.
Reusing isn't confined to coffee cups and ‘bags for life’. There are many innovative ways to reuse plastic containers instead of throwing them away to become part of the 18million tonnes of waste landfilled in the UK every year.
Pictured: Some fluffy visitors to the Havre des Pas hotspot.
Creative reuses range from growing herbs to turning them into lights.
Ever wondered where all our used plastic ends up? Sadly, a lot of it ends up in our waters with plastic being the most common form of waste found in the world’s oceans. The biggest threat plastic poses is that marine life wrongly identifies it as food – especially plastic bags, which can easily be mistaken for jellyfish.
Pictured: The benefits of Jersey people cutting down on their plastic use will be felt across the entire ocean, Sarah says.
Cutting down on plastic in the oceans is simple: the less we use, the less will end up there. Islanders can do their part by following the three Rs: reduce, re-use, and recycle. Reduce the amount of pre-packaged foods and plastic bags you buy, invest in re-usable shopping bags and travel mugs, and make sure that you recycle all the packaging you can, without littering.
We all know that carbon dioxide is harmful for the environment, and it is having a significant impact on our marine life. The carbon dioxide that is created as a result of burning fossil fuels is making the oceans more acidic, which has affected the sensitive calcium skeleton of coral reefs. This increased acidity has also lead to krill numbers dwindling, which in turn has led to blue whales becoming endangered because krill is their main food supply.
Pictured: With views like these, why not walk or cycle to work?
You can reduce your carbon footprint in most areas of your life – from your home to your choice of transport. Investing in energy-efficient appliances and choosing public transport or walking (instead of driving by car) are just two of the many steps islanders can take to make a positive impact on your carbon footprint, and their wallet.
Partaking in a beach clean is a great way to get involved if you like a hands-on approach. We are lucky enough to live near some of Europe’s best beaches island-wide, so let's try and do our best to keep them clean.
Pictured: Café des Pas offers its customers a free coffee in exchange for a bucket filled with rubbish in a bid to get islanders making beaches cleaner, and the world greener.
The whole family can join in, and these offer an opportunity to see the real positive impact we can have if everyone does their part.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not those of Bailiwick Express.
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