The number of temporary bins installed along 8kms of Coogee Beach has again increased for the busy summer months.
The extra beach bins will add to the 10+ tonnes of rubbish diverted from our beaches since a successful trial was held in summer 2019-2020.
This year 37 120 litre bins will be installed between North Coogee and Jervoise Bay Sailing Club at Woodman Point, an increase on last year’s 28, and the 15 bins installed as part of the inaugural trial.
The bins were originally installed as part of a $5,000 Keep Australia Beautiful WA grant, which also enabled the City to increase multilingual educational signage around popular fishing hots spots along the coast.
City of Cockburn Waste Education Coordinator Clare Courtauld said the bins installed on 5 October, would stay in place until April 2022. They were installed a bit earlier this year to coincide with warming weather patterns and the October school holidays.
They would be emptied by a dedicated team up to seven times a week, including increased collections during peak busy periods around popular dates, during warmer weather and to coincide with community events.
Ms Courtauld said the third annual increase of bins at Coogee Beach was due to their popularity with beachgoers.
“The program is proof beach users become accustomed to using bins to responsibly dispose of rubbish if they are provided. Everyone wants to keep our precious coastal environment free of harmful materials,” she said.
Among the most common items found in the bins last year were disposable coffee cups and dog poo.
“Most single-use coffee cups are lined with plastic which means they cannot be recycled via the yellow-top recycling bin. We encourage cafes in Cockburn to join the
Responsible Cafes program to help reduce waste.
“This enables cafes to allow customers to bring their own reusables so that hot drinks can be served in a reusable cup rather than a disposable.
“The program’s other initiatives include offering a BYO discount, charging a single-use cup levy, offering a cup library or cup swap system.”
Last year bins along local dog beaches netted more than 2.8 tonnes, comprising mainly dog poo, with each bin weighing an average of 15kgs!
Ms Courtauld said she visited the beach several times a week during summer 2020-2021 and noticed an obvious reduction in the amount of full poo bags left on the beach, proving the bins’ popularity among dog owners.
The other most common items found in the beach bins were cans, bottles and soft plastics. Ms Courtauld hoped there would be a reduction in the amount of cans and bottles this summer now that people are more familiar with the Containers for Change deposit scheme.
The beach bins are part of the City’s annual summer Clean Ocean Cockburn initiative.