What reusable items do you regularly use?
Some easy ones to bring with you are reusable coffee cups, straws, food containers and lunch boxes.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plasticfree

These sheep are made from old telephone cords and telephones.
Artist: https://jeanluc.cornec.de
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#northernbeachescleanupcrew #recycle #repurpose #plastic #sheep #telephone

A clean-up effort is underway on Tasmania's Bruny Island after reports of a bean bag bursting on a beach which could pose a risk to local marine life. The tiny balls were scattered throughout a stretch of the sand at Adventure Bay, along with some in the adjoining bushland. Discovery Ranger Claire Mason from the Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) found out about the litter on Friday and understood the balls came from a burst bean bag. "On the beach and a bit of the bush alongside the beach there are thousands, if not millions, of tiny little polystyrene balls," she said.
Polystyrene is kind of aerated plastic and so when that gets out into the ocean it floats on the surface, so it can travel a really long way because it's so light-weight. Marine life, especially seabirds, eat it and mistake it for food.
That can cause blockages and cause them to feel full and then starve. Chemicals in the tiny balls can also cause problems. Because it's plastic it contains heaps of toxic chemicals. When they break down in the ocean or when they're inside birds or other marine life, it leaches into their muscles and tissues and organs and can cause all kinds of disease and negative health impacts.
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#northernbeachescleanupcrew #beanbags #plastic #beachcleanup #polystyrene #Tasmania #litter #trash

​People are creating more waste than ever. Bins are overflowing faster and faster, partly due to all of the packaging food comes in nowadays, and partly due to not enough collection times. That is why it’s more important than ever to deal with it efficiently.
So, what can be done to prevent this problem with bins on a wider scale?
Some of the solutions are quite simple, like getting more regular collections, or making efforts to reduce the waste you generate. As for more specialised solutions, smart solar-powered compactor bins are popular in many public areas. These can hold up to eight times as much waste as normal bins due to their compaction process, function through solar power to be eco-friendly, and have the technology to inform those collecting the waste when the bin is about to become full to prevent them overflowing!
In smaller areas, smart fill-level sensors in bins are more appropriate in terms of spacing, playing the same role in monitoring when the bin is full. A monitoring platform can also be put in place to plan out future collections ahead of time, making collections far more efficient and costs being reduced by 50%.
With new ways to use bins, overflowing bins may soon stop being a problem, hopefully bringing an end to the problems of large amounts of business and household waste as well. That being said, we’ll probably find a way to make more waste in the meantime. Will the Northern Beaches Council look at these options? Not sure, but we hope so. All these pictures were taken tonight, by Manly wharf, by the bus stop by Gilbert Park and by the main beach.
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#northernbeachescleanupcrew #bins #litter #rubbish #trashtag #Manly #beachescouncil #loveManly #Manlybeach

Of the estimated 52 billion masks manufactured globally in 2020, it's believed 1.56 billion will enter our oceans this year, resulting in an additional 4,680 to 6,240 metric tonnes of marine plastic pollution. "OceansAsia" says the report used a conservative loss rate of 3 percent, and the average weight of 3 to 4 grams for a single-use polypropylene surgical face mask, to arrive at the estimate. The 1.56 billion face masks that have entered our oceans in 2020 are there for the long run. They will remain in the ocean for 450 years or more, and they’ll break into smaller pieces.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plasticfree

Some used spark plugs, tooth brush heads, spoons and other bits got a new life as a Chess Set.
By: Per- Olof Nilsson
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #repurpose

SAVE THIS PICTURE
We want to thank our friends from our local community that donate their "Return and Earn bottles" to the crew so we can buy more pickers and gumboots for crew members when we do clean ups. If you want to help us out too, save this picture/barcode to your phone and scan it at the "Return and Earn" machine and click PayOut afterwards. Thank you again to our lovely community - we are very grateful!
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#northernbeachescleanupcrew #loveManly #community #returnandearn #beachcleanup #trashtag #plasticocean #trash #literati #litter #beachcleanup #Manly #Manlybeach

This turtle was discovered on New Year’s Eve on Woodgate beach in Queensland’s Bundaberg region by a local who had been enjoying a walk. The turtle was found dead strangled in rope from a crab pot. The turtle wouldn’t have stood a chance at breaking free from the rope and would have endured a horrific, painful death. When fishing, please always check your gear regularly and ALWAYS take it with you home and dispose of it properly if it's broken - NEVER leave it in the ocean.
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#northernbeachescleanupcrew #fishingsucks #turtle #saveouroceans #beachcleanup

Tired of seeing pictures like these? Stop buying balloons and tell your friends to stop buying them too. There are better ways to celebrate.
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"?
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#northernbeachescleanupcrew #balloons #balloonsblow #beachcleanup #beachescouncil #litter #beachcleanup #trashtag #plasticocean #trash #literati #rubbish #turtlekiller

Discarded fishing gear kills hundreds of thousands of whales, seals, turtles and birds each year. Around 640,000 tonnes of fishing equipment are left in oceans annually. This picture was taken at our local no-take aquatic reserve "Cabbage Tree Bay" in Manly.
We often find fishing lines, sinkers and hooks in this area. People are not permitted to fish by any method, harm marine animals or plants, or collect marine organisms whether dead or alive in the area. The reserve covers about 20ha, including the entire bay, rocky shores and beaches from the southern end of Manly Beach to the northern end of Shelly Beach Headland.
If you see someone doing the wrong thing please report it by using this link or call 1800 043 536.
Remember the info needed is
1. the time and date you saw the activity
the type of activity you saw (for example, abalone theft, lobster theft, taking protected fish)
2. a description of the activity
the make, model or registration details of any vehicles or vessels involved in the activity (if possible)
3. the Fisheries Compliance Zone
the location of activity (description as accurate as possible)
4. your contact details (optional).
https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/.../report-illegal-fishing...
Discarded fishing equipment can remain in oceans for up to 600 years.
Pic: Louisa Xu
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#northernbeachescleanupcrew #loveManly #cabbagetreebay #beachcleanup #fishingsucks #Manly

​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

SPONGES are made from PLASTIC - polyurethane for the soft stuff and scouring side made of polyethylene. They never break down in landfill, and while they are in your kitchen they are one of the worst breeding grounds for bacteria. It's no wonder that we throw them away after only using them for a short while.
Why are they such a 'bacteria breeder'? - Because of their massive surface area (all those little pores....) and how they hold water. This combo makes for a bacterial heaven.
Think about how often you throw these away...for hygiene reasons it should be weekly unless you commit to regular disinfection (yeah....that's gonna happen). So take that and work out how much that costs per year.....its about $80!
But there is an option - you can change from your plastic nasty sponge to something like this - a coconut scourer. These will cost you around $4 each BUT:
They last - we have been using ours for 3 months, and at this rate we will use 2-3 this year which will cost about $12. They dry COMPLETELY and don't hold bacteria. When you're done, you can toss them in your compost and the world doesn't pay a price for you cleaning your kitchen.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic
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Turn your old garments into new clothes! H&M has installed a recycling machine called "Looop" in Stockholm, Sweden. The shipping container-sized machine cleans the fabric, breaks it down into fibers and spins it into yarn again. The process takes about 5 hours and uses no water or chemicals. Do you know that H&M in Australia also accepts all old clothing including bed linen and clothes not bought at H&M?
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #recycling

A University of Queensland study in 2012 found that 78 per cent of the plastic ingested by deceased turtles it studied was from helium balloons. Their study confirmed turtles were wrongly identifying the remnants of balloons as a food source. Turtles are unable to throw up the balloons and as gas is released from other foods they digest, they begin to float and suffer a long and painful death. Please stop using balloons - there are many other more environmentally friendly ways we can show off a celebration.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #turtles #balloons #balloonsblow

He died because someone left their plastic frisbee on the beach.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic

This is a NEW product - Free Range Peeled Hard Boiled Eggs that you can buy at selected Woolworths stores. While many other companies are looking at reducing their single use plastic for print, "Sunny Queen Farms" are increasing theirs.
The problem with plastic is that most of it isn't biodegradable. It doesn't rot, like paper or food, so instead it can hang around in the environment for hundreds of years. More than eight million tonnes of plastic enters the world's oceans each year and most of that escapes from land. Experts think that by 2050, the amount of plastic in the ocean will weigh more than the amount of fish in the ocean. All animals, whether they live on land or in the sea, can be hurt by plastic. They can get trapped in bigger items such as carrier bags or food packaging. Birds, fish and shellfish can mistake plastic for food when it has broken down in to smaller pieces. One in three sea turtles, and around 90% of seabirds, have eaten it.They can't digest plastic so their stomachs can become full, meaning they don't have room for actual food. Each year, 100,000 animals in the sea are killed by plastic.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic
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New arrival in some stores
Shopping trolleys made in Australia from 100% recycled Australian plastic.
Not only are the hybrid shopping trolleys better for the environment and local economy, they're lightweight and look great. They large trolleys are made from 152 recylced milk bottles and are perfect for big shops. The smaller trolleys are made from 66 bottles for when you just need a few things! For more information on these trolleys visit https://www.supercart.com.au/
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #recycling

Make up removal pads and wipes - Beautifully soft and effective but a fast way to generate loads of waste and there is an alternative.....
First up, many of those wipes and some pads are blended with materials like rayon to give them strength. Rayon is a synthetic fibre and is classed as a plastic.
You can purchase a 'microfibre' face cleansing cloth quite easily in many supermarkets now but the catch here is what happens when you WASH them and thousands of microfibres of synthetic material (plastics) are washed into our treatment plants and out into the oceans. Read the label - they're made from POLYESTER which is a plastic.
THEN THERE IS THE REUSABLE SOLUTION:
Upfront investment of ~$11 - $20 for 5 -12 pads depending on where you get them. 100% cotton or bamboo - no microfibres to damage the oceans. Reusable and machine washable - chuck them in with your normal clothes OR just make your own pads from an old t-shirt.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plasticfree
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A baby will use around 5,000 nappies over their nappy-wearing life. That produces a mountain of waste equivalent to 130 black bin-bags full. More disposable nappies are found in our household waste than anything else. It is thought the plastics in disposable nappies could take hundreds of years to decompose.
Compared with reusable nappies:
While disposable nappies are made of chemicals, paper pulp, plastics and adhesives, real nappies are mostly natural. Organic cotton and hemp nappies for example.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic

Cabbage Tree Bay (by Shelly Beach in Manly) is a no-take reserve. However, we've often find fishing lines, sinkers and hooks in this area. People are not permitted to fish by any method, harm marine animals or plants, or collect marine organisms whether dead or alive in the area. The reserve covers about 20ha, including the entire bay, rocky shores and beaches from the southern end of Manly Beach to the northern end of Shelly Beach Headland.
If you see someone doing the wrong thing please report it by using this link or call 1800 043 536.
Remember the info needed is
1. the time and date you saw the activity
the type of activity you saw (for example, abalone theft, lobster theft, taking protected fish)
2. a description of the activity
the make, model or registration details of any vehicles or vessels involved in the activity (if possible)
3. the Fisheries Compliance Zone
the location of activity (description as accurate as possible)
4. your contact details (optional).
https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/.../report-illegal-fishing...
Pic of dead Dusky Whaler found by Dave Thomas in 2015 at Shelly Beach.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #beachcleanup #loveManly

Want to know more about what you can do?
Start change with the power you have:
Full interview can be found here:
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2SQNCn9
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2YCCejQ
Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/googlewcwd
Anchor: http://bit.ly/2KTPLfp
"Northern Beaches Clean Up Crew" was founded to solve an immediate litter problem on the local beaches in Sydney. 5 years on, Malin from Kobie and the Crew are leading the campaign against single-use plastic in their communities and neighbourhoods. Thank you to @whatcanwedo.podcast for the interview.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic #beachcleanup

211 million kilos of plastic packaging waste was generated by Amazon last year! All the air pillows, bubble wrap, foam packaging and other plastic that they ship would circle the Earth 500 times, according to a new report from Oceana. Even worse, up to 10 million kilos of Amazon's plastic waste ended up polluting the world's freshwater and marine ecosystems last year. That's the equivalent of dumping a delivery van full of plastic into the oceans every 70 minutes! Most of their plastic isn't destined for recycling and instead goes into landfills, incinerators or just straight into the environment where it stays forever. That's just a few of the many reasons to stay away from Amazon!
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic

When you pour hot water into a cup with a plastic lining, what do you think happens to your coffee? ⠀
In a recent study by Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur researchers set out to evaluate the degradation of plastic lined films in single-use cups. They found that 4 out of 5 disposable paper cups were lined with HDPE grade of plastic. In the experiment scientists poured hot water (85–90 °C) and left the samples for 15 minutes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Using fluorescence microscopy they discovered that approximately 25,000 micron-sized microplastic particles leached into one cup of water (100 ml). The analysis also found the presence of heavy metals—iron, chromium, and cadmium in particular—in the cup’s plastic lining. The report suggests that the Ingestion of microplastics, ions, and heavy metals regularly while using these single-use products can expose us to potential health risks in the future, like cancer and infertility.
#northernbeachescleanupcrew #plastic #coffee #takeaway

For every 85 grams (3 ounces) of mussels you eat, you’re ingesting an estimated 70 particles of microplastic, a new study by the University of Hull and Brunel University London finds.
Researchers took samples of wild mussels from eight coastal locations around the UK and eight supermarkets. 100% of them contained microplastics and some contained other debris like cotton and rayon. Mussels eat by filtering seawater through their bodies, ingesting small particles of plastic along with their food.
Analysis shows around half of the debris found in the mussels was microplastics such as polyester and polythene and 37% was other debris including textiles such as cotton and rayon. Seafood is only one way humans ingest microplastics, as they’ve been found in other food sources and drinking water, and can even be inhaled, University of Hull environmental scientist Jeanette Rotchell said. Single-use plastic is responsible for nearly 90% of ocean pollution.
#plasticpollution #mussels #northernbeachescleanupcrew