More than 20kgs of litter including 9kgs of recyclable plastic and glass bottles were collected at Peregian Beach dunes last Saturday during a clean-up conducted by Noosa Community Biosphere Association (NCBA).
NCBA’s Kylie Moses said the group found more than 50 plastic bags.
“This tells us that people are taking items to the beach in plastic bags, but not bringing their litter back to the bins.”
Since March, NCBA volunteers have had a monthly clean-up of Noosa beaches, and at the Noosa Biosphere Day community event on 2 October they will join with Noosa Integrated Catchment Association’s Marine Debris Flotilla, Surfrider and Noosa Divers to clean up the Noosa River.
Kylie said the litter from the joint river clean-up would be weighed, counted and reported to the Tangaroa Blue Australian Marine Debris Initiative database.
The data is used in preventing litter at its source, and will help in assessing the impact of the Plastic Bag Ban and Container Refund Scheme to be introduced in Queensland in July 2018.
With a combined effort from NICA’s weekly river clean-ups, NCBA’s monthly beach clean-ups and Surfrider’s 6-monthly Double Island Point clean-ups, the three volunteer groups are making a big impact on keeping our waterways free of rubbish, Kylie said.
The Noosa River walk and clean-up event will take place at 7am on Monday 2 October from the Noosaville Lions Park. For more information, visit www.ourbiosphere.com.au.
