A GRAPHIC illustration of the amount of litter on beaches was highlighted when a Beach Patrol event at Mount Martha collected 151 kilograms in one hour.
“After many months of no organised clean ups due to COVID-19, it was fantastic to have about 100 volunteers come out for a morning of beach litter blitz, craft, a talk by Dolphin Research Institute and lots of great prizes from local businesses,” Waste Wise Mornington Peninsula’s Birte Molier said.
A feature of the event was a mini-container deposit scheme which prompted Boomerang Alliance to ask people to write to their MPs to push the case for a scheme that works because “we can’t do litter cleans forever.”
The beach clean-up’s 116 volunteers collected 134 cans, 180 glass bottles, 85 plastic bottles, 200 butts, 22 coffee cups, 20 straws, 20 bottle tops and “many more items we just didn’t get a chance to count”.
Supporters included South East Water, Waste Wise Mornington Peninsula, Dolphin Research Institute, Corner Counter, BERG Mt Martha, Mount Martha Life Saving Club, Mount Martha Yacht Club, Dindi Naturals, Farrells Bookshop and Boomerang Bags.
First published in the Mornington News – 2 March 2021
