Noticed Bermagui’s beaches looking cleaner of late? Thank Our Coast Our Mission pair Malcom Doyle and Bella Liang, who are aiming to clean 60 beaches stretching 9000km over 30 days.
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The Adelaide pair joined Bega Valley Shire locals last week as part of its East Coast Spring Clean 2017, collecting swathes of rubbish before recycling it.
Boomerang Bags Bega Valley Sapphire Coast coordinator Dörte Planert joined the clean, saying there was plenty to be found along Sapphire Coast beaches.
“At Eden we found heaps of plastic flowers from the close-by cemetery,” Ms Planert said.
At Eden we found heaps of plastic flowers from the close-by cemetery
- Boomerang Bags Bega Valley Sapphire Coast coordinator, Dörte Planert
“Perhaps residents could refrain from plastic decoration and rather plant a nice small decorative shrub.”
It was the first of two beaches the team tackled that day after cleaning up Pambula Beach in the afternoon and taking to Bermagui the following day.
Ms Liang posted on their campaign’s Facebook page how pleased she was to be joined at Bermagui by people representing Balloons Blow, Sea Shepherd Australia and even some local kids from the Bermagui Preschool.
Between Eden and Pambula the group managed to collect 494 glass, plastic and aluminium bottles. At Bermagui, a total of 186 bottles were collected, which filled four of the large bags being used in the clean-up.
Ms Planert said the rubbish found on Pambula Beach seemed to carry over from the neighbouring caravan park, including camping utensils, barbecue coal bags and shower caps.
In addition to the usual waste such as plastic and cigarette butts, the spring clean also discovered a rusty bicycle, large freezer Esky and bongs.
She said a lack of recycling bins at popular beaches meant helpers resorted to taking the recyclable rubbish home.
“We sorted it and put everything that’s still recyclable in sacks and then to our own recycling bin,” Ms Planert said.
On Thursday, November 16, Mr Doyle was at Byron on their last stop before hitting Queensland beaches.
He said the need for a container deposit scheme in NSW, Victoria and Queensland was paramount, but also unlikely to fix the problem straight away.
“Younger kids are more in tune with putting their bottles in the recycling, but adults heading to the beach with a slab of beer aren’t necessarily going to keep all their bottles or cans, carry them back to their car to go to a container deposit kiosk for $2.40,” he said.
“We need more of a culture change.”
The NSW container deposit scheme, Return and Earn, will start across NSW on December 1 with the aim of reducing litter in the state by 40 per cent by 2020. An apt date for the next visit.
The team will return to Merimbula on December 1 from 4pm to 7pm, meeting at the Merimbula Visitor Information Centre. Locals who wish to take part can simply show up and collect a bag.
The clean will run from the start of Beach St near the intersection of Main St and head south-west towards the Market St bridge.