A bin trial at beaches along Coogee Beach prevented more than 2.6 tonnes of rubbish – equal to the weight of nine bottlenose dolphins – entering Cockburn’s coastal environment this summer.
The three-month trial of 15 bins placed at beaches between Coogee Surf Life Saving Club and the Omeo shipwreck was held from 1 December to 9 March.
The beach bins, decorated with artwork by children from the Graham family of Cockburn for the Coogee Live beach festival, were regularly emptied by a dedicated officer stationed in the area.
The trial was part of the City’s new three-pronged Clean Ocean Cockburn program which also successfully removed litter from the local coastal environment with the global Take 3 for the Sea campaign.
It encouraged community members to pick up and bin three pieces of rubbish when out and about before posting a selfie of their efforts and tagging #take3fortheseacockburn on Facebook or Instagram.
Silvia Foh from Cockburn was announced the inaugural winner of a 2-night trip for four people to Rottnest.
Clean Ocean Cockburn’s third element, the popular Clean Ocean Cuppas program, has been extended to the end of March.
By the end of January it had given away more than 100 free coffees to participants as a thank you for removing a bucketful of litter from the beach.
Eight local participating cafes have so far helped remove more than 1,000 litres of rubbish from the environment.
Mayor Logan Howlett said the first two elements of the Clean Ocean Cockburn program had already been wildly successful, reducing waste ending up in Cockburn’s coastal environment during the busy summer months.
“This is a huge win for Cockburn’s coastal land and ocean environments and the sea life they support. We know that plastics are toxic to birds and ocean animals alike,” Mayor Howlett said.
“It’s also achieved the outcome of helping people establish better habits around being responsible for the rubbish they create.
“By encouraging people to pick up litter every time they’re out and about, they will hopefully become more aware of rubbish and establish litter collection as a lifelong habit.”