Come and join us for our January clean up at Dee Why lagoon. We'll meet in the grass area on the pathway between Clarence Street and Pittwater road in Dee Why - see map in our event. We have gloves (no kids gloves - sorry), bags and buckets. We'll clean up this area to try and catch all the litter before it enters the ocean. We're trying to remove as much plastic and rubbish as possible - there are plenty of big items on this clean up to pick up, so we'll be cleaning up for a bit longer today - of course it's ok if you need to leave earlier - we're happy for any help! Plastic bottles, glass bottles, aluminum cans and milk crates. If you have gumboots it would be great if you could bring them because this clean up will be muddy. We're a friendly group of people and everyone is welcome to this family friendly event. It's a nice community - make some new friends and do a good deed for the planet at the same time. Parking on the streets close by, Pittwater road (ok to park in the bus lane on Sundays, Clarenece Street, Hawkesbury Avenue etc). Message us on Facebook or on Instagram if you are lost. All welcome - the more the merrier. Please invite your friends too.
The rubbish patch covers 1.6 million square kilometres with a concentration of 10–100 kg per square kilometre. They estimate an 80,000 metric tons in the patch, with 1.8 trillion plastic pieces, out of which 92% of the mass is to be found in objects larger than 0.5 centimetres. Not to mention the trillions of immeasurable Micro plastics that don't collect together. This Graph totally disregards the 20million tonnes of landfill we (Australia) throw out annually and is already on our lands accumulating every second.
The Green is the total area of the country. The Orange is the Area we would have left after deducting the 1.6 million km2 of garbage. The Yellow 1.6 million km2 of garbage. The garbage area is bigger than 32/50 of our world's largest countries. We hope this sinks in with people and puts everything in perspective. In less than 200 years we have done this to our oceans and land. 1. Start at home. Do a plastic audit of your household. Shower bottles, deodorants, washing up liquids, shampoo bottles. Aim to make reductions here by ditching shower gel for soap and the plastic cotton buds for recyclable ones; buy liquid detergent in recycled plastic bottles and find a refill station to fill them up. Shampoo bars and toilet paper in recycled packaging are also available.
2. In the US, 1billion plastic toothbrushes are thrown out each year. Try using bamboo toothbrushes instead which only take about six months to biodegrade back into the soil when you have to replace your brush. 3. Carry reuseable fabric shopping bags. 4. Try buying wholesale and putting dried products such as rice, pasta and lentils into glass jars to avoid buying products wrapped in plastic. 5. Recycle old plastic children’s toys. Search for a toy library in your area to borrow from or donate to. And consider charity shops when looking for gifts. 6. Carry a reuseable coffee cup or flask; 7 million plastic-lined coffee cups are thrown away in the UK every day. 7. Say no to plastic cutlery. Carry a fork with you or use a compostable alternative. 8. Ditch cling film wrap for your food. Foil is recyclable, so use foil instead or tupperware boxes. 9. Use an electric razor instead of plastic disposable one. 10. Write to companies whose packaging is non-recyclable, asking them to consider using less destructive materials. Maybe even think about starting a social media campaign to raise awareness. Strength in numbers! Reason why you should ALWAYS dispose of your rubbish the proper way!
This poor magpie got a plastic ring caught around its beak and would've died if it hadn't been picked up by the good people at Pelican and Seabird Rescue Inc. "This sub adult magpie would never had managed to get this ring off its head due to the severe serrations which took some feathers as souvenirs when removed." The bird was released back into the wild. |
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