Whilst walking her dog in 2018, Debbie noticed that the amount of marine litter being washed up onto her local beach clearly reflected the grim facts of the global ocean pollution crisis. As a keen follower of the Blue Planet series, Debbie’s motivation to do something about the situation led to her founding a volunteer-based, community interest group called Litter Free Felixstowe. Debbie’s drive, skills and determination became infectious and the group quickly grew. It now has over 1,100 members, not to mention the support of Sir David Attenborough himself!

In this week’s Suffolk Money podcast, Debbie talks to Colin Low about how this mighty team of local volunteers have made it their mission to ensure that no plastic waste ends up in the sea. By acting as a community, they inspire residents, visitors, businesses and hauliers to take action. Together, it is their aim to make Felixstowe the UK's first Litter-Free town.

Since recording this podcast, we’re also delighted to report that Debbie recently won the ‘Green Hero’ award at the Suffolk Greenest County Awards 2021. Here’s what the judges said:

“Debbie is a remarkable lady, inspiring so many people and making such a difference to our community. The work she does within schools to educate children is key to tackling the environmental issues we face and I could not think of a more deserving person to win this award.”