Small pieces of soft plastic, cigarette butts and bottle tops were the most common items of rubbish found on Gympie Terrace by volunteers who gave up their time for the annual Clean-Up Australia Day (CUAD) last Sunday.
Jarrah Small and Mel, who managed the Thomas St boat ramp registration and collection site said they were surprised at the large turn out with about 50 people registering for the cleanup.
Mel said small items had been collected along the riverbank and they were expecting some larger items, including an old rusty crab pot, to come in from the clean up by Women on Waves paddlers and an accompanying NICA boat.
“All the little stuff, that’s what all the animals ingest, especially the soft plastics,” Jarrah said.
A scout group from Brisbane who were taking part in a weekend Cub Scout camp at Noosa sea scouts helped clean up the river bank.
Group leader Jeffrey Gridley said the Bracken Ridge scout group had organised their event to coincide with the annual cleanup.
A massive total of 71.5kg of rubbish was picked up by 35 volunteers at Noosa Woods.
With the site coordinated by Plastic Free Noosa, together they cleaned up 33 cans, 28 glass bottles, two chairs, one SUP covered in barnacles, 12 pieces of clothing, 10 plastic bottles and a whole lot more.
Plastic Free Noosa gave a huge shout out to Ben and Jerry’s Noosa and Noosa World Surfing Reserve for bringing their crews along.
The event was coordinated across Noosa Shire by Noosa Integrated Catchment Association and Noosa Council.
At Peregian Beach Frank Wilkie, who managed the registration and collection site as he has done for more than a decade, said the amount of rubbish collected had decreased year on year. It’s not surprising given the hard work of the area’s community group to maintain the environment.
The National CUAD event has been coordinated locally for many years by volunteer community group Noosa Integrated Catchment Association (NICA).
This year NICA volunteer Joe Jurisevic once again organised a number of registration and collection sites across the Noosa region from Kin Kin to Peregian, including Boreen Point, Cooran, Cooroy, Federal, Noosaville, Noosa Woods, Noosa North Shore, Pomona, Sunshine Beach, Sunrise Beach and Tewantin.
Community groups were also involved in cleaning up around Teewah and illegal dumping in our local forests.
NICA president Juanita Bloomfield said the value of the Clean Up events to the Noosa environment and community could not be underestimated.
“Every piece of litter removed helps improve the health of our rivers and creeks and the natural environment on which our diverse local wildlife depends,” she said.
Clean Up Australia Day in Noosa would not be a success without the generous support of the Noosa Shire Council, NICA, Plastic Free Noosa, Allcott Hire and Cleanaway who ensure all rubbish collected is disposed of properly.
For more information, visit cleanup.org.au
