On 15 June 2019 Action for Dolphins hosted one of Melbourne’s biggest beach cleans.
Over 180 people joined us to clean up Frankston foreshore. The festival brought together numerous not-for-profits, local businesses and people from all over Melbourne.
The festival ran as a “trash for treasure” where attendees could trade rubbish collected for tokens to spend on the day. Tokens could be used for face painting, ice cream, coffee, second-hand clothes and vouchers for local businesses.
We also had incredible live music on the day – a big thanks to Grey Whistle Test, Luck-Louise, Djeme Movement Australia and Ben Ackermen for performing.
We made a huge dent on the rubbish entering our waterways. Working with Frankston Beach Patrol, Sea Shepherd and Dive2U we collected a whopping 150kg of rubbish.
This included 4,600 plastic packaging items, 2,700 pieces of soft plastic and 1,500 cigarette butts. A team of divers from Dive2U collected a huge 30kg of rubbish from around the pier!
The world generates a collective 300 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, and this number is set to double by 2030. With so much plastic pollution hitting our oceans it’s more important than ever to keep our beaches and waterways clean.
It was incredible to see so many young people join us on the day to give a helping hand. We had students from Frankston High School assist with the litter audit and a huge number of children participating in the clean.
Photos credit: CoastcareIt goes to show, when a community comes together we can make a huge difference for marine life.