Employees from a Cowes software company collected rubbish, car parts and a fossil during a beach clean between Cowes and Gurnard.
Colleagues from Yokogawa Marex recently took part in a litter pick along the coastline from Cowes Green to Gurnard as part of the company’s community and environmental work.
Armed with litter pickers and bin bags, 19 employees spent several hours cleaning the shoreline during low tide on a sunny spring day.
Among the items collected were clothing, discarded fishing nets, plastics, several car parts, an old metal tractor seat and – fitting for a technology company – a circuit board and computer hard drive.
However, the most unusual discovery of the day was a fossil, later identified as part of a 35-million-year-old sea turtle shell.
Wayne Matthews, Divisional Director at Yokogawa Marex, said:
“Although part of a Japanese-owned global company, it’s always been important for us to work within and benefit our local area here on the Island.”
“We picked up plenty of waste that would otherwise have been washed out to sea, while spending a few working hours outside on a sunny day.”
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The litter pickers used during the clean-up were supplied by Ryde Library, which loans the equipment free of charge to local residents and groups wanting to tidy their communities.
This year also marks a major milestone for Marex, which is celebrating 60 years since being founded in Cowes.
Ahead of an anniversary event planned for the autumn, the company is encouraging former employees to get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Doing what we pay the council to do, yet council tax
keeps going up!