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Northern Beaches Clean Up Crew
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If Sweden can pack their cherry tomatoes like this, why can't other countries do it?  Let's see if we can all stick to these rules (and add no balloons or single use plastic coffee cups)  Join the crew. Our clean ups are always the last Sunday of every month at 10am. All welcome.  Ferry commuters. Why is to so difficult to bring your own cup? Is it too heavy to carry? Are you worried your bag will get dirty? Are you forgetful? What can we do to assist you in bringing your own cup? Sonoma is the coffee place closest to where the ferry departs from. It really presents like you don't want to carry a cup - max 10 meters and then sitting down. What has our society become? You can do better! If we all switched to reusable coffee cups, we would divert 500 billion takeaway coffee cups from landfill every year.  Bounce back to your childhood days with our 90's themed jumping castle says Westfields. Did jumping castles have these many balloons in the 90's? Do you think there would be better ways to promote this jumping castle than using balloons? Why do you think Westfields use balloons (turtle killers) to promote this event? 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 do not go to heaven. They land in the ocean and choke sea turtles, kill dolphins and whales, and the ribbons entangle birds. Many times, they end up on a beach as litter. Even the ones marked "biodegradable" can hurt animals before they have a chance to break down. Animals far from the ocean, such as horses, have been hurt and killed by balloons (they eat them when they land in their hay or they get spooked and bolt). Some balloons have started fires when they got entangled in power lines. Sky lanterns have set homes, power lines, trees, and buildings on fire. Sky lanterns can also entangle an animal even if it is marketed as "biodegradable." There are many safe alternatives to releasing litter into the air, such as planting a tree for your loved one and watching it bloom, or blowing bubbles into the air. Grief is a painful process. In our grief, we do not need to cause others grief. While there are many environmental problems facing our planet, this is a very simple one to solve.  So, Harris Farm is half listening to our voices. They're still selling most of their strawberries in plastic punnets but they are now trialling selling lose strawberries too. We should encourage every positive little step made so shops feel supported and continue to change for the better. Thank you for this Harris Farm.  Ice cream served in banana leaf cup with bamboo spoon. Not sure where this pic is from, but it shows that changes can be made if there is a will strong enough.  Earthcare St Kilda penguin guides found this penguin with a wristband caught around it's neck tonight. Thanks to guides Maggie and Gordon for finding the penguin and to Ivan for removing the wristband. Thankfully the entanglement was detected early and the penguin was not injured. We urge you to think about the environment every time you accept or purchase plastic products. Please ask yourselves "is it worth it?" and if you see companies handing out waste as merchandise, question them. If you are throwing circular objects in the bin, cut it and break the chain. Do it for the penguins and all other animals. Pic: St Kilda Penguins  The Mcflurry pigeon in Rotterdam. People are trying to help him but cant catch him- he can fly but he wont be able to preen his feathers and keep himself clean. Please reduce waste as much as you can by making good consumer choices.  Our clean ups are always the last Sunday of every month at 10am and you are all welcome to this family friendly event! The more the merrier. Do a good deed for the planet and make new friends at the same time.  The production of water bottles uses 17 million barrels of oil and emits 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. It takes 3 times the amount of water to make a single bottle as it does to fill it.  What some of the unusual items you have found on a beach clean up? The Northern Beaches Clean Up Crew have found a shark strangled to death by an elastic in Dee Why, a dinosaur suit in Freshwater, a bicycle in Curl Curl Lagoon and on our last clean up we found ice crampons at Mona Vale Beach.  |
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