From Delia Bense-Kang, California Campaign Manager
“Taking a beach cleanup a step farther than the landfill, Surfrider Humboldt recently partnered with local jewelry designer and surfer, Hannah Millner, to literally transform trash into treasure. Millner is the owner and designer of Sea to Seed, her hand-made jewelry company out of Blue Lake California. She has recently been experimenting with incorporating beach trash into her pieces, and a cleanup with Surfrider presented a perfect way to source materials while enjoying a day at the beach.
The cleanup took place on Saturday June 8th, in celebration of World Oceans Day. During the event volunteers picked up all trash in sight, but took extra notice of items that might be usable for jewelry. In the end, several pieces of rubber, rope, and micro plastics were found worthy of taking on a new life. In addition, volunteers rid the beach of hundreds of nails, shards of glass, plastic cups, beer bottles, and tin cans. Millner then set to work, creating a special edition “beach trash” line, from which a portion of the proceeds will go back to Surfrider Humboldt.
“I can only hope we can find more innovative ways to repurpose the plastic and waste that is already here, and furthermore reduce our use all together. Until then, I hope to keep finding ways to make earrings, for you to wear proudly and use as a little daily reminder of how long this stuff really lasts,” said Millner. “Upcycling the beach trash I’ve found has allowed me to donate to incredible organizations like Surfrider who are working tirelessly to rid the ocean of plastic and educate children and adults across the globe!”