Students team up to collect litter on the coast

PRIMARY school students have collected more than 1,100 litter items in Barwon Heads in less than an hour.

The students from Fyans Park Primary School came down to work with Barwon Coast collecting and recording litter items found along the lower section of the Barwon estuary.

Maddie Glynn from Barwon Coast said in less than an hour, 49 students had collected in excess of 1,100 litter items, of which 489 were cigarette butts along only 175 metres of coastal reserve.

The majority of litter items found were some form of plastic, which included the cigarette butts.

“Upon commencement of the activity students thought the area was clean, however once everybody was head down and looking, the amount of litter items found astounded the students and teachers,” Ms Glynn said.

Barwon Coast teamed up with Zoos Victoria and Tangaroa Blue as a registered party to contribute to the Zoos Victoria Marine Debris Monitoring Project.

The information collected will enable better understanding of where debris is coming from.

Ms Glynn said bins were provided throughout the coastal reserve for use by all.

“If you are not sure what bin you should be placing your rubbish into, always place it into the waste bin.

“It is much better than leaving it on the ground where it will inevitably find its way into the estuary and ocean.

“Marine debris is everyone’s problem, and we can all do a little bit in caring for our coast.”

If your group would like to be involved in marine debris monitoring, contact Ms Glynn at Barwon Coast.