By Margaret Maccoll
From picking up rubbish to reusing and re-purposing, the message to reduce plastic waste was delivered loud and clear from a group of surfers and environmentalists who gathered at Noosa’s Main Beach for a Sustainability Forum last Friday evening.
Led by Phil Jarratt the forum brought together surfers Layne Beachley, Craig Macintyre, Mark Visser, Noosa Councillor Joe Jurisevic, Noosa Biosphere Community Association (NBCA) spokeswoman Kylie Moses, Head Ranger Omar Bakhach and Nev House creator Nev Hyman.
World champion surfer and Planet Ark ambassador Layne Beachley said the issue of plastic waste came down to the choices individuals make on a daily basis.
The Surf rider foundation’s Craig Macintyre said the organization collected two tons of rubbish from local beaches every six months and while this helps keep the area clean it was up to people to stop creating the problem.
Big wave rider and Back to Tap ambassador Mark Visser advocates the reuse of water bottles, filled up from the tap.
“As surfers we see a beautiful place and we want to keep it,” he said.
Cr Joe Jurisevic said people’s mindset had to change.
“We didn’t have plastic bags when we were growing up. We didn’t have plastic water bottles. We used to recycle” he said. “Convenience became the winner.”
Kylie Moses told of NBCA’s aim to stop the use in Noosa of the major five plastic pollutants – single use plastic bags, disposable coffee cups, plastic straws, plastic water bottles and plastic takeaway containers.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Sunshine Coast head ranger Omar Bakhach wants people to take whatever they bring into national parks back out when they leave.
Surprisingly, when rubbish bins were removed from parks people took more responsibility, taking rubbish with them, he said.
Nev Hyman has a viable solution in treating plastic waste as a resource to be used to build houses. His NevHouse which sat on Main Beach for the duration of the festival was proof his theory could be a reality. Nev said across the world people will continue to dump their rubbish in rivers and oceans unless a solution is created.
