An inaugural waste education campaign prevented at least 3.3 tonnes of rubbish from entering the coastal environment of the City of Cockburn, Western Australia, this summer – equal to the weight of 11 bottlenose dolphins.
Local residents got right behind the Clean Ocean Cockburn campaign, binning their rubbish at 15 bins placed along Coogee Beach, joining in the Clean Ocean Cuppas initiative and the #take3forthesea global program.
The three month trial of 15 bins placed at beaches between Coogee Surf Life Saving Club and the Omeo shipwreck between 1 December and 9 March collected more than 2.6 tonnes of rubbish.
The beach bins, decorated with artwork by local children were regularly emptied by a dedicated officer stationed in the area.
Rubbish collected in buckets by participants in the Clean Ocean Cuppas program, took the tally to an estimated 3.3 tonnes, with eight local participating cafes instrumental in its success.
By the end of January, Clean Ocean Cuppas, had given away more than 100 free coffees to participants as a thank you for removing a bucketful of litter from the beach.
And even more was binned by others collecting three pieces of rubbish from the beach before posting their #take3fromtheseacockburn photos to social media.
Mayor, Logan Howlett said the Clean Ocean Cockburn campaign had been wildly successful, preventing waste from ending up in Cockburn’s coastal environment during the busy summer months.
“This is a huge win for Cockburn’s coastal land and ocean environments and the sea life they support. We know that plastics are toxic to birds and ocean animals alike.
“It’s also achieved the outcome of helping people establish better habits around being responsible for the rubbish they create.
“By encouraging people to pick up litter every time they’re out and about, they will hopefully become more aware of rubbish and establish litter collection as a lifelong habit.”
