Cleaning up the Whitsunday coast on World Turtle Day Eco Barge Clean Seas volunteers invite Whitsundays visitors and residents to join them at a community clean up event on World Turtle Day. Picture: Supplied.
Community Staff writers
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Subscriber only Whitsunday residents and visitors are invited to join a community clean up event this Sunday, May 23 to mark World Turtle Day. Hosted by Eco Barge Clean Seas and Cruise Whitsundays, the land-based event aims to prevent local litter becoming marine debris, and in turn help the marine environment and all its wildlife survive and thrive. Wear sun smart clothes and enclosed shoes and head down to the Cruise Whitsundays Terminal from 9am to 11.30am to do your bit to keep our iconic town and oceans pristine.
Eco Barge Clean Seas founder Libby Edge said Containers for Change had helped reduce the number of containers seen in Whitsunday waters.
“I founded Eco Barge Clean Seas to go out there and clean our beaches and protect our marine life from the threat of marine debris,” she said.
“We have now removed over 206,000kg of debris from our islands.
“Thanks to the Containers for Change scheme, we have seen a dramatic reduction in empty beverage containers actually going out to sea. That’s helping us protect our marine life.
“When you see a vulnerable sea turtle come into our care and it is so sick and so touch and go, to be able to release that beautiful turtle back into the ocean – well that’s our job done right.”