A Co Down boy who's been working hard to rid local beaches of plastic waste over the past year has now been given a special bin to help with the job.
Charlie Hamilton-Cooper started his beach clean-ups in 2017 after a conversation with his parents Jonathan and Catherine about the state of our oceans.
Now the five-year-old travels all across Northern Ireland, removing man-made waste from along our shorelines. And has delivered his magic touch to 24 beaches.
Until now his family has been disposing of the litter collected in local or household bins, with the likelihood being that much of it has ended up in landfill.
But waste management firm ISL has now given Charlie his very own beach clean bin to prevent that less than ideal outcome.
They said: "We were delighted to name Charlie as our Litter Hero at the recent Live Here Love Here Community Awards, in Belfast Harbour.
"On that evening, we discussed with his parents some of the challenges they were facing in regards to waste. As a result, we have provided the Hamilton-Cooper family with their own ISL Waste Management bin.
"Taking pride of place in their driveway, Charlie and his helpers will now be able to dispose of everything they collect from our coasts, in the knowledge that all items will be recycled or sent for energy recovery.
"NOTHING will end up in landfill. The world currently uses over 300 million tonnes of plastic a year and the problem is only getting worse.
"One in 20 people admit to regularly littering, in fact less than half of plastic bottles in the UK are recycled after use.
"Litter Heroes such as Charlie are working to create a better environment on their doorstep. They are already making a massive difference locally and as a company who have environmental responsibility at our centre, we are keen to support in any way we can."
Click here to find out more about Charlie's quest to save our oceans.
Keep up-to-date with all the very latest news, what's on, sport and everything else in Belfast and beyond with the Belfast Live app.
Only select news that interests you by picking the topics you want to display on the app's homepage. Plus, our enhanced user experience includes live blogs, video, interactive maps and slick picture galleries. Download it now and get involved.
Click here to get it from the App Store or here for Google Play .
