Happy World Environment Day and World Ocean Day to all of you legends who are part of the crew. All of you who turn up to the clean ups, share our posts, spread awareness and are just all around incredibly kind and awesome people that we are happy to know. We love getting to know each and every one of you. 
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #beachcleanup

School children got a huge shock when they turned up to their usual swimming lesson to find the pool full of plastic waste. Pupils from a primary school, in Measham, were expecting a normal swimming lesson but got more than they bargained for.
The school's deputy head said that the school had organised the stunt to tie in with pupils' lessons on the environment and the dangers of plastic pollution. She said: "The reaction of the children was quite profound. "The first thing they said was - 'It's just like the sea'.
FULL STORY: http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/.../school-kids-turn-up...
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic

This juvenile Pied Shag was dropped off to Wellington Zoo after being found on the ground, weak and emaciated. The team at The Nest Te Kōhanga immediately performed an endoscopy and then managed to get a vape pen out, but unfortunately the Shag died overnight.
The vet team suspect he wouldn’t have been able to eat for days before he came in and would’ve suffered from serious metal and nicotine poisoning.
Unfortunately we see animals with these sorts of problems regularly. A sad reminder to please always tidy up after yourself and make sure these lovely birds don’t mistake your rubbish for food.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic #beachcleanup #trashtag #plasticocean #trash #litter #beachcleanup #savethisplanet #bird

Sri Lanka is facing the worst environmental disaster in its history after a cargo ship carrying chemicals caught fire off its coast, spilling microplastics across the country’s pristine beaches and killing marine life. The ship was carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid, sodium hydroxide and other dangerous chemicals as well as 28 CONTAINERS OF PLASTIC USED TO MAKE PLASTIC BAGS! It also had more than 300 tonnes of fuel in its tanks.

The fire on MV X-Press Pearl, a Singapore-registered ship, broke out on 20 May and has been burning ever since. The Sri Lankan navy and Indian coastguard have been trying to reduce the flames for more than 10 days. Local people have been told not to touch any of the debris as it could be highly toxic and fishing has been banned within a 50-mile radius of the scene.
Images credit to BBC News and ABC News
#breakingnews #chemicalspill #microplastics #srilanka #wildaware #beachcleanup #trashtag #plasticocean #trash #litter #beachcleanup #trashtag #northernbeachescleanupcrew

Every little step counts.
Merimbula McDonald’s has committed to divert its food waste from landfill through Bega Valley Shire Council’s FOGO (Food Organics and Garden Organics) for Business scheme.
The Merimbula franchise is the first McDonald’s restaurant in NSW to adopt the FOGO scheme, adding to a growing number of local businesses pushing for better food waste management.
Council’s FOGO for Business Project Officer, Rechelle Fisher said the quick service restaurant’s decision shows a commitment to explore the commercial and environmental benefits of diverting food waste to Council’s composting facility.
“This is an established local business showing that responsible food waste management can be a commercially made decision with great social and environmental outcomes,” Ms Fisher said.
“It’s the bottom line that often dictates choosing one path over another, and Merimbula Macca’s plus a growing number of other local businesses now realise that saving on costs and making positive environmental changes go hand-in-hand.
“Another positive is the collaboration between Council staff and Merimbula McDonald’s management in overcoming challenges that may have otherwise resulted in FOGO not working for their business. “Initially, the restaurant jumped on board in 2019 as an early adopter of commercial FOGO in the Bega Valley. Their first go at this wasn’t so successful due to implementing different disposal methods with staff. “The Restaurant Manager flagged these issues with the FOGO team, and we were able to work with them to overcome any challenges.”
Restaurant Manager, Ryan Fraser said the restaurant reintroduced the FOGO bins late last year and the service is now running smoothly.
“Thanks to help from Council’s FOGO team we are now keeping food waste out of landfill and saving money on our disposal costs. It’s a win for everyone.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #lesswaste #fogo

​Balloons are in the top three most harmful waste items to wildlife. Birds and turtles not only ingest balloons, they actively select them as food. This is because a burst balloon often resembles a jellyfish, the natural food sources of many marine species like turtles.
Ingesting balloons, and the clips and strings attached to them, can cause intestinal blockages and results in a slow painful death through starvation. Marine animals don’t have the gastrointestinal pH levels to breakdown a balloon and for turtles, it may also cause floating syndrome. Trapped gases in the gut can cause a turtle to become buoyant, unable to dive for food—making them vulnerable to boat strikes and leading to starvation and severe dehydration.
Wildlife, both terrestrial and marine, can also become entangled in balloon ribbons or strings, causing injury or death through drowning, suffocation, or an inability to feed and avoid predators.
Even if balloons are disposed of "safely" they go to landfill where it may take up to 1,000 years to decompose, leaching potentially toxic substances into the soil and water. Why are some organisations like this so stubborn in regards to using balloons as "advertising fun?
Even if these balloons are biodegradable, it's greenwash. Natural latex may be biodegradable, but after adding chemicals, plasticizers and artificial dyes, how natural could it be? It may degrade after several years, but it’s surely not “biodegradable.” Balloons are also the number 1 cause of death in sea birds such as Albatross and Mutton birds that have consumed plastic.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #balloons #balloonsblow #loveManly #litter #beachcleanup #Manlybeach

​Thoughts? Byron Bay Council had these on their beaches. Do you like them? Should we push for something similar here? Our beaches are non- smoking but we don't have any proper signage of that and no one has ever been fined for smoking on our beaches. What would you think works best to prevent people from littering cigarette butts in our beaches?
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #smoking #cigarettes #beachcleanup

It is not our rubbish but it is our planet.
Join us for a beach clean up the last Sunday of the month at 10am on the northern beaches. See our website for all details: www.northernbeachescleanupcrew.com
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #beachcleanup

Not all heroes wear capes.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #beachcleanup

If you haven't heard of "greenwashing" before, it's the concept of corporations and businesses making their products or practices seem more environmentally "green" than they really are.
According to the Korea Herald, a Facebook member posted in the group “No Plastic Shopping” that they felt betray "betrayed" when they discovered the plastic bottle inside, and filed a complaint of greenwashing against the firm. After plenty of criticism the firm clarified that the "Hello, I'm a paper bottle" label only referred to the paper bottle around the plastic bottle.
"This product is called 'paper bottle' to make it easier to explain the role of paper labels wrapping outside of the bottle," a spokesperson for Innisfree told BBC News. "However we understand that the entire container can be seen as paper material because of the product name. We are deeply sorry for the confusion caused and will try to deliver more accurate information to you."
The company added that the inner bottle uses 51.8 percent less plastic than conventional packaging.
What other greenwashing products do you know of?
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #greenwashing #plastic #saynotoplastic #plasticfree

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #beachcleanup #litter #trash #friends

We haven't had one beach clean up that we organised throughout these years where we haven't found any abandoned fishing gear. Do you wanna join us for a beach clean up? See our event tab.
All plastic in the oceans is harmful to marine life, but one type of plastic pollution is especially deadly - Fishing gear.
Why is it more deadly?
Fishing gear is designed to catch and kill marine life, and it continues to do that even when it is abandoned or lost at sea.
One abandoned fishing net can cause years or even decades of death and destruction. Around 300 sea turtles were discovered dead in a single incident in 2018, entangled in a ghost fishing net in Mexican waters. We must put a stop to this destruction of life in our oceans.

#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic #plasticocean #beachcleanup #seaspiracy

Have you heard of the "latte levy"?
According to AlJazeeraEnglish , places like Ireland have started to trial something called "latte levy" in a bid to change consumer habits and cut the environmental impact from the use of single-use plastics. The idea is that instead of giving discount for BYO cups, which so many lovely cafes are already doing, the customer would PAY for the luxury of using a single-use cup, similar to what we're seeing with plastic bags!
Janet Salem, who has worked with UN in developing sustainable policies for over a decade, suggest that cafes could, for example, charge 50 cents extra for single-use cups. In this way, we will be setting a new norm by positioning BYO cups as the default.
What do you think about latte levy and would you cafe start this instead of the discount? Someone has to pay for the disposal of waste... Let us know in the comments!
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #takeaway #byocup #keepcup #plasticocean #trash #litter #beachcleanup #trashtag #plastic #saynotoplastic #plasticpollutes #plasticfree

A podcast about what we do and why we do it - AND what you can do
https://www.whatcanwedopodcast.com/.../northern-beaches...
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #beachcleanup #plasticfree

Researchers from the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Queensland set out to look at how much microplastic was in all forms of rice available to consumers. Research has found packs of instant rice contain up to 13 milligrams of microplastics, highlighting the need for more to be done to limit plastic content in food. Lead author Jake O’Brien said they found regular uncooked rice had about three to four milligrams of microplastics for every 100 grams of rice in the samples they tested, while that jumped to 13 milligrams for instant rice.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic #rice

In Sweden and other countries where the tap water is perfectly drinkable , there really is no need to use bottled water – a source of unnecessary pollution and waste.
A few years ago, Sweden's second-biggest city Gothenburg introduced a sustainability label – Kranmärkt – to encourage businesses and organisations to use tap water instead of bottled water.
This movement would quickly catch on in many parts of Sweden. Since 2017, the Kranmärkt label is Sweden’s national sustainability label for businesses and organisations that choose tap water over bottled water.
Kranmärkt – which literally translates as ‘tap labelled’ – shows that you take a stand for a better environment and inspire others to also choose tap water.
It is indeed a label, not a certification! So participating businesses and organisations are responsible themselves for maintaining the standards of the label.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #sweden #tapwater #kranmärkt #water #plasticfree

Congratulations "Crew" - you, me, us. We are all the "Northern Beaches Clean Up Crew" - the ones who pick up litter, the ones who mumbles under our breath when we see those pesky, small, fish shaped containers filled with soy sauce, the ones who refuses coffee when we've forgotten our keep cup, the ones who brings our own bags when shopping, the ones who knows that bottled water is way more expensive than petrol, the ones who celebrates without balloons and are the ones who always keep on going. You never give up! Congratulations to all of you - you have all been highly commended tonight at the Northern Beaches Council's Eco Awards. We are proud of each and everyone of you and what an honour it is to have made so many friends along this journey
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #loveManly #beachcleanup #plasticfree

Are you a jerk?
Remarkably, there was no sign of dog poo along the pathway between the Pavilion Cafe & Bar and the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club yesterday.
Could this sign be working???
It looks to us like some vigilante got sick of seeing all the dog poop and dog poop bags along this path and created their own sign. What a legend!
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #beachcleanup

Thank you to ALL of you amazing people.
National Volunteer Week (NVW) is Australia's largest annual celebration of volunteers. From Monday 17th to Sunday 23rd May 2021
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #volunteer

In a river in the Danish city of Århus, a small machine called the WasteShark now autonomously sails through the water collecting trash, bringing it to shore, and then recharging itself. Soon, a drone will begin flying through the air to help: Using a special lens that collects data to be crunched by a machine learning algorithm, that drone can identify pieces of plastic or other garbage and direct the sailing drone to pick them up. The system can also identify oil spills, which the WasteShark can help clean up with a special filter.
While the small trash-eating drone isn’t new, the addition of the flying drone makes it possible to find more garbage more quickly. The sailing drone also hasn’t been used to clean up oil spills in the past, because without the drone overhead scanning the water, it wouldn’t be able to identify the oil.
This type of work isn’t a complete solution to our waste problem; stopping the flow of plastic waste into the ocean will require rethinking how products are packaged and sold and building better recycling infrastructure. But these types of tools can help governments better understand the scale of the challenge. And systems that catch trash in rivers, as the project in Denmark does, can be a final safeguard to stop plastic and other pollution before it drifts into the ocean, breaks down into tiny fragments, and ends up being eaten by fish or birds.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #litter #trash #beachcleanup #saveouroceans

We would just like to say how thankful we are for everyone who joins the crew and helps create awareness about plastic pollution. We couldn't do this without you - we are all the crew. We love meeting everyone and you all makes us believe in kindness and hope for our planet.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #beachcleanup #friends #loveManly

We've now had 5 out of 8 states and territories commit to ban single-use plastics, and the differences are big. In addition to the plastics listed here, Western Australia will also be moving to ban helium balloon releases, microbeads and polystyrene packaging in the coming years.
PLUS the Australian Government has committed to phase out loose fill and moulded polystyrene packaging by July 2022, as well as expanded polystyrene foodware, oxo-degradable plastics, and PVC packaging labels by December 2022. One thing is clear - we have a long way to go! We still need several states and territories to get on board, and we need all jurisdictions to increase their ambition and phase out more of the lethal plastics hurting our ocean wildlife.
For a more detailed version, visit www.marineconservation.org.au/plasticstracker
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic #plasticfree #beachcleanup #litter

Pre-peeled eggs and some spinach comes at a cost - you pay for the packaging. Buy plastic free!
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic #saynotoplastic #plasticfree

If you buy plastic free, you're guaranteed snake free lettuce. This is a juvenile Pale Headed Snake (Hoplocephalus bitorquatus), capable of causing a dangerous bite found in a pre-packed lettuce bag at Aldi in the Sydney suburb of Mosman. The snake has since been taken back to Queensland and released.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plasticfree #snake #lettuce #plastic #aldi #mosman