Litter problem shown up by clean-up
On the clean team: Jade Donnelly with Imogen, Isla and Macie at Mount Martha beach.
Picture: Supplied
A GRAPHIC illustration of the amount of litter on beaches was highlighted when a Beach Patrol event at Mount Martha collected 151 kilograms in one hour.
“After many months of no organised clean ups due to COVID-19, it was fantastic to have about 100 volunteers come out for a morning of beach litter blitz, craft, a talk by Dolphin Research Institute and lots of great prizes from local businesses,” Waste Wise Mornington Peninsula’s Birte Molier said.
A feature of the event was a mini-container deposit scheme which prompted Boomerang Alliance to ask people to write to their MPs to push the case for a scheme that works because “we can’t do litter cleans forever.”
Make the most of container deposit scheme
Picture: Supplied
HOLIDAYMAKERS staying closer to home due to COVID-19 restrictions, has led to more visitors to the Mornington Peninsula.
The influx after months of lockdown and lost incomes has been a welcome relief for businesses needing tourist dollars.
But a big downside, according to Waste Wise Mornington Peninsula co-founder Birte Moliere, has been “a growing amount of litter”.
“One solution to our litter problem is a long overdue container deposit scheme where you get 10 cents for every returned can, plastic and glass bottle,” Ms Moliere said.
She said that in 2019, Victorian-based beach patrol groups collected 21,014 kilograms of litter and 39,839 drink containers. This amount of litter would be drastically slashed under an effective container deposit scheme.