Record haul at Snapper
Tuesday 16 November 2010
Record haul at Snapper
by Mat Churchill
An army of conscientious volunteers fought a battle on the beaches of Snapper Island on Sunday, a battle against one of our region's greatest foes.
Greatly outnumbered, and with odds stacked against them, the volunteers heeded the call from Tangaroa Blue's Heidi Taylor, and collected a record haul of rubbish from the iconic island.
519 kilograms of the choking waste was gathered, binned, and transported back to the mainland for responsible disposal. A total of 5,610 items were collected by 57 volunteers including:
- 846 drink bottles
- 2,602 pieces of polystyrene
- 281 shoes
- 66 toys
- 557 pieces of hard plastic
- 74 cans
- 252m of rope
Other discarded objects included car tyres, a life jacket from a plane, gas bottles, a portable toilet, and a number of syringes.
Rubbish washes ashore on Snapper Island due to it's location near the mouth of the Daintree River, and prevailing winds which blow the debris onto the island.
Ms Taylor highlighted some damming more statistics on the damage this rubbish, and plastic in particular, does to the environment.
"For every square mile of ocean there are 46,000 pieces of plastic. One million birds and 100,000 marine animals die each year from coming into contact with this plastic which doesn't break down for up to 600 years.
"Once an animal has died and broken down, that piece of plastic can be consumed by another animal," she said. "This causes internal blockages, starvation and death. The toxins in plastics have also been documented to be an endocrine disruptor, affecting reproduction in animals.
"Marine animals and seabirds also can become entangled in marine debris causing painful infections that can lead to amputation, strangulation, starvation and death."
Ms Taylor said the efforts of volunteers will make a difference.
"Each piece of rubbish removed from the coastline is one piece that won't kill an animal or bird, so the 5,610 pieces of marine debris collected from Snapper Island on Sunday has removed the threat that these items pose to our marine life and seabirds helping to protect our marine environment.
"While we work on ways of stopping more and more plastics ending up in our waterways and oceans, volunteers are left to clean up the mess.
The data collected during the clean up gives us evidence on what is impacting our local area, and will be submitted into the National Marine Debris Database which is used by local, state and federal governments, industry and communities to find practical ways of stopping the flow of debris into our oceans.
Ms Taylor was quick to thank those who helped on the day.
"Thanks to all the hard working volunteers, and also thanks goes to Port Douglas Coast Guard, Queensland Marine Parks, Cairns Regional Council, Low Isles Preservation Society, and Port Douglas Catering for their support and logistics."