Strap on your Strawkel: Volunteers fight plastic pollution in Manly Cove
Plastic pollution is a global scourge in our oceans, contaminating food chains and suffocating marine life that get caught up in our waste. Recent reports indicate that if humans don’t clean up their act, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean by weight than fish.
In Manly Cove on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, volunteer divers and snorkelers have banded together to fight plastic pollution, drawing attention to one of the most common plastic items in our waterways: straws.
“Operation Straw” has been running all summer, collecting nearly 2000 straws over nine one-hour Saturday sessions. In Australia, 2.9 billion straws are used annually, most for only a few minutes before they’re discarded. The Manly “strawkelers” are encouraging individuals and businesses to boycott the plastic straw for the sake of Sydney’s magnificent marine environment.
There are two Saturday “Strawkels” left this summer, and all members of the public are welcome (BYO snorkel gear or hire from Dive Centre Manly for a discounted rate on the day).
Image (supplied): Harriet Spark
