Turning trash into treasure

The BIEPA Marine Debris Task Force is turning trash into treasure: data that helps stop litter at its source. Read on to learn how it works, and maybe join them on one of their Red Beach clean-up mornings.

This video, produced by BIEPA member Chris Meibusch and his tame drone, shows the team in action on Red Beach earlier this week.

Red Beach clean-up

Marine Debris task force leader Rhys Walker is organising volunteers to clean up a 6km stretch of Red Beach, sorely needed after the floods earlier this year

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As many volunteers as he can get will be on the job every other Monday morning until the job is done. Each volunteering event involves finding and bagging any man-made litter that has washed up on the beach and in the fringing bushland.

Data collection

All litter collected is catalogued by Rhys and the data sent to Tangaroa Blue, an organisation that aims to eliminate marine debris at its source.

Tangaroa Blue Foundation is an Australia-wide not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the removal and prevention of marine debris: one of the major environmental issues worldwide.

In their annual report for 2021, the total number of items removed from oceans and beaches was approaching 20 million!

Getting involved

If you'd like to join the volunteers helping Rhys on his Red Beach clean-up mission, find an event on our Events page and use the RSVP button to get involved.