My rubbish harvest on Clean Up Australia in my local area, which outwardly appears clean, was extraordinary. The extent of plastic waste along the river was disheartening - especially the volume of plastic straws, lollipop sticks and plastic soy sauce fish.
I always participate in on Clean Up Australia Day if I can. It didn’t take much of my Sunday morning (just a couple of hours) and just a little effort to join. I live close to the Brisbane River, regularly taking advantage of the green reserve that is tended to by Bush Care volunteers on my daily walks - so I figure it is the least I can do.
On face value the area is pristine the tracks are clean, clear and cared for, and I have never seen ’trash’ except the occasional beer bottle left behind at the benches that are perfectly positioned to enjoy a Brisbane sunset or sunrise. Look a little bit closer and it’s easy to see the myriads of micro-plastics that are making their way into our food chain.I did expect that there would be an area in the mangroves by the water that would need some attention - and I was right.Like our lungs, mangroves produce large quantities of oxygen, they allow healthy marine ecosystems to breathe. Mangroves maintain water quality and clarity, they filter pollutants and trap sediment. They also trap floating waste that moves in and out of the river banks with the tides.
Even with my general exposure and interest in understanding waste and consumption, I was really disheartened to see so much in a relatively small space, there was obvious (mostly plastic) waste trapped in the mangrove shoots and the riverbed.I picked up a collection of thongs, water bottles, plastic containers, lids, pieces of buckets, plastic bags and packaging, medical waste, fishing waste, nylon rope, styrofoam pieces and of course a colourful collection of plastic straws. I was most surprised however, by the volume of white lollipop sticks, plastic soy sauce fish, parking meter tickets (the new plastic printed ones) and tiny plastic fruit stickers (not sure why these are even necessary to be honest) that I found.
As I filled my bag I found myself contemplating how they made it to the banks of my suburban reserve? Entirely likely that the smallest most plentiful pieces (the soy sauce fish, plastic lollipop sticks and fruit stickers) made their way to the river from the drains of the local schools. There are two large schools upstream from this clean up area.The bigger question I pondered while gloved and hunched like a hyena under the mangroves was how do we meaningfully change behaviour and the way we mindlessly consume so that Clean Up Australia Day isn’t necessary at all? And perhaps it really is time that the businesses who produce this ridiculous array of plastic are accountable for its return?