Winter worst time for beach rubbish near Ocean Grove

DATA collected since 2017 between beach access ways from Collendina to Ocean Grove, has been recording the volume of litter found on local beaches with surprising results.

Maddie Glynn from Barwon Coast said thanks to a dedicated local community volunteer, the valuable information in being collected year-round between beach access ways 6W in Collendina and 14W in Ocean Grove.

“This wonderful volunteer (who wishes to remain anonymous) has been collecting litter data since 2017.

“Analysing the three-year litter dataset, we can start to see some concerning trends. The data is showing that the highest volume of rubbish along our coastline is during July, not during the busy summer months.

“In 2019, October and December had the highest number of days when litter was present in the collection area, however July showed the highest volume of litter overall.”

The July 2019 records tallied 1,766 pieces of dog waste and 3,359 rubbish items collected over 25 days, compared to the December tally over 30 days of 759 pieces of dog waste and 1,738 rubbish items.

“This is an increase of in excess of 60 per cent for both categories. Barwon Coast are keen to gather more data on rubbish on the local coastline, including the intertidal zone of the beaches.

“It may come as a surprise to many that we have more litter on our beaches outside of the busy summer season. This highlights that we all have a duty of care to be responsible for the volume of litter we bring down to the beach and how we choose to dispose of it.

“When coming to the beach ‘Bring less is Best’ and please clean up after your dog and dispose of all rubbish responsibly.

“Only together can we make the behavioural change happen that our local beaches need. I’m hoping next year the rubbish tally will decrease. It may not be your rubbish, but always remember to Take 3 for the Sea”.

Ms Glynn said more data, the more information Barwon Coast have to help the local community tackle this issue.

If you are interested in becoming involved in regular citizen science litter clean ups, phone Barwon Coast on 5254 1118 or email [email protected] indicating your availability and location of interest to you.