There are two ways at welcoming students back to school - an unenvironmentally friendly way or an environmentally friendly way. Which one do you prefer?
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 schools using balloons to promote fun and happiness?
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.”
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #balloons #balloonsblow #plastic #plasticfree #beachcleanup #trashtag #litter #turtle #oceans #animals #animalrights

We just want to thank everyone so much that helped cleaning up after the grubs last weekend. There were rubbish (broken glass, balloons, takeaway containers, plastic bags etc.) in literally all suburbs along the beaches after last Saturday evening. We have some amazing people in our community that care very much about our environment and wildlife and you're all legends. Let's continue to fight for the good and not give up. Hopefully, others will learn soon and join us as well. Education is the key. Keep up the good work - Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #beach #loveManly #Freshwater #gooddeeds #beachcleanup #rubbish #litter #localheroes #DeeWhy #NBCUC #northernbeaches #beachescouncil

Even though we cannot organise our monthly clean ups, we can still do our bits and clean up our local area. That is just what young Piper did today. Thank you for all your efforts Piper - you've prevented many animals from getting entangled, injured and poisoned. Love your work!
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #beachcleanup #rubbish #litter #notallheroeswearcapes #doyourbit

Can we please stop the stupid & environmentally damaging practice of releasing balloons?
They are an absolute killer of seabirds & other marine life such as sea turtles.
This weekend on Birds New Zealand beach patrol of Muriwai Beach, amongst the usual litter of fishing line & nylon rope, they collected the remains of two balloons. Many seabirds such as this unfortunate Fluttering Shearwater die when they become entangled in them or ingest them accidentally. If you are celebrating any festive occasion or the passing of someone you love; rather than littering, do something environmentally positive instead like planting a tree. Please stop the crazy practice of releasing balloons.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #balloons #balloonsblow #beachcleanup

Multiple Coles customers have complained about “frustrating” click and collect experiences, claiming some groceries are being “overloaded” into one bag while others only contain a single item.
With large parts of the country under stay-at-home orders, many shoppers are now opting to get their groceries via click and collect services or delivered. Some customers received bags with just item inside, such a piece of cheese or a bottle of milk. What's your experience with "Click and Collect"?
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plasticbags #waste #plastic #plasticfree #Coles #clickandcollect

​Dee Why lagoon has 300-500 microplastics per square metre. Anything over 250 microplastics per square metre is considered high.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic #DeeWhy #beachcleanup #trashtag

Check out these legends - this is what they cleaned up in just under two hours. What a fantastic effort. "What you makes a DIFFERENCE, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." ~ Jane Goodall
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #beachcleanup #cleanup #commumity #cleanup #inspiration #bethechange

No matter where you walk, you’ve probably seen them: little stinky discarded dog poo bags. Sometimes they’re along sidewalks. They’re also in the woods or even tied from tree branches like Christmas ornaments. As no one really wants Mother Nature decorated with these smelly pouches of poo, why do people discard their pet droppings? After all, they went to the trouble of bagging it, why not actually haul it away?
Maybe the offender dropped off the bag with every intention of picking it up on their way back from the walk. But then they went a different way home. Or got distracted and totally forgot.
Maybe the dog owner had no plans on carrying a reeking sack with them on their lovely stroll at all. They figured bagging it was enough of an effort. Someone else can pick it up.
Or maybe bagging and tossing—particularly on a trail—is someone’s mistaken belief that biodegradable bags will quickly break down. Biodegradable bags can be made out of corn or petroleum and contain microorganisms to help break down the bag. But “biodegradable” is merely a marketing term with no standard or legal definition.
A study published in 2019 in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found that several bags that were marketed as "biodegradable" survived in the open air, buried in soil, and submerged in seawater for three years or more. Compostable bags, on the other hand, are made of plant starch. They contain no plastics and are generally more expensive. In the study, the compostable bag dissolved in seawater in three months.
Dogs are eating diets rich in protein and added nutrients that throw the ecosystem out of whack when their poop hits the ground - their poo must be picked up.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #dog #plastic

Please take your rubbish with you. It can trap, entangle, hurt and poison animals.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #litter

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

​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

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

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