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 never had a beach clean up where we haven't found any abandoned fishing gear of some kind; lures, sinkers, floats, hooks, lobster cages or fishing line.

Sweet Seraphina, the endangered Green Sea Turtle, was rescued by Australian Seabird Rescue Central Coast after she was found floating at a local jetty. She was brought to see the Wildlife Team at SASH Central Coast, where it was discovered that her intestine was full of fishing line, which was causing a blockage within her bowel. Seraphina was in a critical condition; however, she required an emergency exploratory laparotomy (ex-lap) surgery to save her life.

Following a thorough examination and extensive diagnostics, Seraphina was smoothly anaesthetised and prepped for the procedure. The first half of Seraphina’s surgery went without fault. Dr Ingrid was able to gently remove the sea turtle’s intestines from her carapace (shell) and, with the smallest of incisions, remove the entangled clumps of fishing line, all the while the sleeping sea princess not feeling a thing, but as the surgery team travelled further along checking the intestines they found, not one, but three bowel perforations that were damaged beyond repair. Their hearts sank as they concluded that the most humane thing to do was put the beautiful and very innocent creature in front of them to sleep. So, they did. And Seraphina never woke up.

Sea Turtles are an endangered species, with fishing line being one of their deadliest threats, and at SASH, they are not calling for people to stop fishing, but WE are all calling for people to fish responsibility: Use biodegradable fishing line; count your fishing hooks; and always clean up after yourself.

 Taken by SASH team
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #fishing #turtle #beachcleanup #litter #trash

​The federal government’s national plastics plan below.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic

​Polystyrene packaging around whitegoods will be banned by the middle of next year and cups and food packaging made from polystyrene will also be banned by December 2022.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #polystyrene #plastic #plasticfree

What kind of person are you?
A balloon picker or a balloon litter?
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. Balloons are the number 1 cause of death in sea birds such as Albatross and Mutton birds that have consumed plastic - google Lauren Roman doctoral thesis looking at the effects of plastics in marine birds in Australia and New Zealand to learn more.
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 businesses still using balloons as "advertising fun"?
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #balloons

Have you heard of the 'shopping trolley theory'? It's been applied to management styles, tests of moral fibre etc
It is basically the theory that, given that you get nothing out of it why would you do the 'right' thing? The shopping trolley presents itself as the apex example of whether a person will do what is right without being forced to do it.
Applies to managing your waste, and picking up litter from others. When its easier to just 'do nothing' do you choose to take the time to do it right?
Servant leadership describes it well. Leading by example is another way of acknowledging this model.
Do you return your shopping trolley?
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #trolley

What does fresh mean to you?
Pre-cut fruit in a sealed plastic container? You pay for plastic packaging, not for freshness.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plasticfree #plastic #saynotoplastic

This was a devastating sight to find when "Cornwall Seal Group" was out surveying last week - another victim of recreational fishers. On the haulout, it was impossible to get to this poor hooked moulted pup! If you seeds around this area and you see this seal then please call BDMLR on 01825 765546 or https://bdmlr.org.uk/ or contact https://www.cornwallsealgroup.co.uk/
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #animalrights 

Balloons found at Dee Why beach a few weeks ago. 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.

#northernbeachescleanupcrew #balloons #balloonsblow #nature

Wherever you are in the world, please use a reusable mask as your first option but if you for whatever reason need to wear single-use masks, please CUT the strings before throwing them out.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #mask

How many have actually found dumped reusable cups? We've found one on all our clean ups in total. Single-use cups are not valued hence they are often littered. Have you made the change to a reusable cup yet?
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #coffee

Return and Earn is celebrating the 5 billionth container deposited through the scheme. With two out of three eligible containers now returned through the state’s container deposit scheme, over 460,000 tonnes of material has being sent to recyclers to be turned into a clean, valuable commodity. $500m has been returned to the NSW community through the 10 cent deposit and over $18.2 million has been raised for community groups and charities via donations and fees from hosting return points. If you like to donate your bottles and cans to "Northern Beaches Clean Up Crew", please comment below or send us a message and we will give you or barcode to scan.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #recycling

Every year 1 billion disposable coffee cups end up in landfill sites across Australia and in NSW 300 million have the same fate, causing significant environmental impact.
.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #keepcup #coffee #litter #beachescouncil #beachcleanup

Over 450 ‘swap and go’ cups have been delivered to the first 20 cafes signed up to the northern beaches council's Swap for Good coffee cup swap program.
The ‘swap and go’ systems are a great solution to reducing our reliance on disposable coffee cups. Customers drop off their empty swap cup at any participating café, then when purchasing a coffee, it’s served in a new and clean swap cup. There are also options if customers forget to bring their swap cup, which makes it easier to create a new habit over time.
As part of the Swap for Good program, the registered cafes from Manly to Elanora Heights received free stock of the reusable ‘swap and go’ systems to help them reduce their use of disposable coffee cups in a COVID-safe way. To be part of this program:
https://www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/.../coffee-cup...
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #recycling #swapforgood #takeawaycoffee

Batteries.....Australians dispose of 8000 tones of batteries each year , full of acid, heavy metals and recoverable valuable materials.
Faaaaar out......8000 tonnes.....imagine what that looks like!
With only 3% of all Australian batteries being recycled this is an area that needs BIG change - and yet it’s so easy! These little power cells are a disaster in the red bin and landfill!
Follow these TWO simple steps:
1. COLLECT THEM - Clearly mark a container and put it somewhere safe & accessible and collect your used batteries
2. DROP THEM OFF - Recycling collection centers are in heaps of places -
Battery World (go figure!),
Aldi
And you can find more including information for CAR batteries etc on the link below.
No excuses - collect your batteries, recycle them properly and TELL A FRIEND or five!
Get 'em outta landfill!!!
https://recyclingnearyou.com.au/batteries/
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #batteries

Is this your wrapper? Mars bar wrapper with the best before date 1994 found this week at Queenscliff beach.
The vast majority of debris in the ocean — about 75 percent of it — is made of plastic. It can consist of anything from plastic bottles to packaging materials, but whatever form it takes, it doesn't go away easily. While plastic may break down into smaller and smaller pieces, some as small as grains of sand, these pieces are never truly biodegradable. The plastic bits, some small enough that they're called microplastics, threaten marine life like fish, birds and turtles. Up to 95% of some populations of birds have plastic in their gut.
We can clean up beaches every day for the rest of our lives. But it's a little bit like trying to mop the floor up in your bathroom. If the bath is overflowing and both taps in the bath and the shower are all running at full speed, it's a waste of time trying to just clean up. You will need to clean up eventually but the first thing is to stem the flow. And that has to be the priority. Say no to single use plastic.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic #beachcleanup

Repurposed spoons turned into a penguin.
Pic: Erik Gustafsson
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #repurpose

South Australia's nation-leading ban on single-use plastics, such as straws and cutlery, has come into force, with the government targeting other items to add to the prohibited list. Environment Minister David Speirs says the new laws ban the sale, supply and distribution of a range of single-use items. He says more will be added to the list in early 2022 including polystyrene cups, bowls and plates. Fines can be issued for any businesses that don't comply but, with strong consumer support for the new laws, the government believes companies will be happy to embrace the change.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plasticfree #plastic #saynotoplastic

Camille Reed is the founder of the Australasian Circular Textile Association, a not-for-profit that advocates for more sustainability in the fashion and textile sector. She says about 30 percent of all online sales are returned in Australia.
"And of that 30 percent, a further 30 percent cannot be sold". That's part of the roughly 800,000 tonnes of textile waste generated in Australia annually, according to the latest numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
When returns come in, they'll usually be manually assessed to make sure the product is in good condition, and fits the company's protocols for resale. "Maybe there's no capacity to actually have staff on the payroll to facilitate that," says Camille Reed. "There probably is a huge cost associated with holding [certain] labels and branding and remarketing, ensuring that it's all correct." If items can't be resold, they might be donated to charities, sold on to discount chains - or tossed altogether.
Associate Processor Payne says companies will ultimately be thinking about their bottom line, as well as the environmental impact. "For each particular retailer, they have to make a decision: which is the most cost effective pathway?" she says.
"And for some of them, it might be to partner with a charity or a textile recycler, to handle that waste." "Sometimes the easiest pathway, the path of least resistance, might be landfill or to overseas retail incineration as well."
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #landfill

Glitter is not only impossible to clean up, it also stays in the environment FOREVER! Choose biodegradable glitter made from cellulose instead, or make eco-confetti with a hole puncher and fallen leaves. We don't need plastic to sparkle!
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic