Spring cleaning Aussie beaches
News
What better time than spring to spruce up some of our much-loved beaches? Thanks to our keen volunteers, we’ve been busy collecting rubbish to protect our sea animals.
We’ve held beach cleans in Melbourne, on the Sunshine and Gold Coasts, and most recently at Mosman in Sydney; where 15 ocean lovers braved the blustery weather to collect 48kg of rubbish.
This Spring, thanks to our total of 78 keen volunteers, we collected and removed 199.5kg of rubbish.
The plastic tide in our oceans is rising
Today, plastics and other marine litter are one of the major threats to sea animals. Even if this problem stopped tomorrow, the effects will persist for centuries. Concerns are increasing about the effects of microplastics on the health of sea animals like fish, whales and seabirds.
You only need to take a walk on a beach anywhere in the world to see the scale of the marine litter problem.
About 10% of all marine litter is lost, discarded and abandoned fishing gear. Known as ghost gear it is the biggest threat facing sea animals.
Which is why World Animal Protection founded the Global Ghost Gear Initiative in 2015 to get governments, NGOs and companies to combat this global problem.
It’s clear that now is the time for action. And we can play our part today by helping to keep our beaches clean and free from plastic pollution.
Join the Movement
Are you interested in joining us for a beach clean? Early next year we will be holding more beach cleans around the country. Follow this link to fill out an expression of interest and we'll be in touch with details in 2019!
Today, plastics and other marine litter are one of the major threats to sea animals. Even if this problem stopped tomorrow, the effects will persist for centuries.