A Wallagoot man has invested close to $20,000 of his own money into stopping plastic from entering the waterways.
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As a surfer and a diver, Peter Hannan has always had a love for the ocean. In the last decade he noticed a drastic increase in pollution, but it wasn’t until last year that he decided he had to do something about it.
Each year the Sapphire Coast Marine Discovery Centre (SCMDC) holds an Annual Marine Science Forum. In 2016 the theme was “Turning the tide on trash; Discussing the problems, working towards solutions”.
“I attended the forum last year and it was very informative but it was also really depressing,” Mr Hannan said.
At the forum Mr Hannan said he learnt how much damage plastic was doing to the ocean and decided to make a pledge to make a difference.
Mr Hannan pledged to “ensure that every high school student in the Bega Valley Shire has a stainless steel reusable drink bottle provided for them.”
Less than a year later, using his own funds, Mr Hannan has purchased over 2,500 reusable, stainless steel drinking bottles smartly adorned with the Sapphire Coast Marine Discover Centre logo.
On Monday, March 20, Mr Hannan and Kerryn Wood from the Discovery Centre gave a presentation at Eden Marine High School before giving each and every student one of the drink bottles.
“I wanted the students to know that they can make a difference and one of the easiest things to do is to stop using plastic water bottles.”
In the presentation Ms Wood played two videos to show the kids how the plastic enters the ocean and how it affects marine life.
“It was shocking to see the animals dying and knowing it’s because of plastic,” year 12 college captain Kiah Miller said.
In the coming weeks Mr Hannan and Ms Wood plan to take their presentation and the drink bottles to all four high schools in the Shire but it is hoped this initiative will spark community, school, local government and council support for more bottles to be purchased for every year 7 high school student in 2018, and into the future.