The rubbish Christmas tree returns to Croyde Beach

The annual festive tradition of a ‘rubbish’ Christmas tree has returned to Croyde Beach or raise awareness of caring for the environment.

Parkdean Resorts, which owns Ruda Holiday Park and the beach, has created the Christmas tree from beach waste collected by park staff during the past year.

Made from a collection of disposed fishing nets, recycled tent poles and guy ropes, the festive structure stands at more than nine feet tall, and aims to highlight the widespread issue of marine waste affecting coastal areas.

It was initially created with an empty frame, to encourage beach goers the public to add their own beach waste findings as decoration, with the aim to have a fully decorated tree and a cleaner beach by the time Christmas arrives.

In addition to the Christmas tree, the team at Ruda has also commissioned Exeter-based firm, DCW Polymers, to create two park benches, made from a total of 94 kilo of recycled beach waste collected from Croyde Beach throughout the year by the Parkdean team.

The park was also successful in applying for Devon County Council’s Free Tree Initiative, receiving 45 native broadleaves, consisting of oak, birch and cherry trees, that have been planted around the park’s lakes.

Holly Robertson, Beach Team Manager at Ruda, said: “We want to create a positive social and environmental impact, and our mission is to put sustainability at the heart of staycations.

“We’re always looking to come up with new initiatives to raise awareness of the environmental issues we face, and we hope local residents will get involved with our festive initiative to create the most eye-catching Christmas tree in Devon.”

Jason Goozee, Head of DCW Polymers, added: “We’re delighted to be working with Ruda Holiday Park to help create a truly circular sustainable model.

“With the creation and installation of these park benches, we’re able to upcycle discarded plastic collected from marine environments into beautiful, useful and long-lasting products, giving this plastic waste a new lease on life for visitors of Croyde Beach to enjoy for years to come.”