Over the past two weeks Eco Barge Clean Seas (EBCS) Inc. have put in extraordinary efforts leading up to World Environment Day, collecting over 700 kilograms of rubbish with just 80 volunteers.
In the past month, the group has celebrated a mammoth milestone: a total of 400 trips out to Whitsunday Islands to clean the seas.
The local conservation organisation spoke with Mackay and Whitsunday Life ahead of their planned island clean up on the internationally recognised day celebrating environmental protection.
EBCS Founding Chair Libby Edge said the 400th trip, alongside the group’s astounding collection of over 237,449 kilograms since July 2009, really put things in perspective.
“We’ve removed that much from the ocean, and that’s pretty fantastic,” Ms Edge said.
“But what that statistic doesn’t show is the awareness raising; I think seeing that marine debris on the beaches changes your life forever. People who come out on the barges with us, they’re never the same.
“On shore, you’ll dispose of your litter correctly because you can see what it does out there.”
Ms Edge started Eco Barge Clean Seas Inc. over a 12 years ago, and on average the group has taken out roughly seven thousand kilograms of marine debris from the oceans per year.
During the winter months, Ms Edge said it was all action for Eco Barge as their activities are usually dictated by the weather.
They’ve doubled their efforts in the past month, having come off the back of a particularly wet March and May. It’s seen them take part in two major cleaning operations, the first of which was a remarkable effort.
54 volunteers helped remove 578 kilos from the Whitsunday Islands, counting and sorting over 40,000 items in the first operation.
That trip was a part of the ReefClean project which is funded by the Australian Government's Reef Trust and delivered by Tangaroa Blue Foundation in partnership with Eco Barge Clean Seas.
In the second, the group collected 155 kilograms, but this time on land in Airlie Beach – with those primarily cigarette butts. Ms Edge said the on-land missions hold their own importance.
“When you think about cigarette butts and how little they weigh, then you think 155 kilograms, it really speaks for itself how much is out there,” Ms Edge said.
“60 to 80 per cent of marine debris is coming from land-based sources, and that’s why preventative action is just as important if not more so for us as an organisation.”
To volunteer with Eco Barge Clean Seas Inc. head to their website ecobargecleanseas.org.au
Eco Barge Clean Seas Inc. Founding Chair Libby Edge with just some of the rubbish collected by Eco Barge over the past few weeks
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