Yesterday I went for a windsurf at Middle Harbour. Ok you may think that is pretty boring but in the space of an hour I reckon I caught about 5 plastic bags on my centre board. They were all washing out on the tide and were every where.
In the end I was so disgusted that I stopped sailing and went around picking up plastic. Every thing from bottle tops and plastic drink containers to straws and plastic bags, most stuff floating just below the water.
While I was doing this a guy was trying to catch a pelican that was wrapped up in fish hooks and line. He reckons the bird will most likely die as the line never breaks down.
What does the government and manufacturers not get about plastic at least make it Bio degradable. What do the greater peasantry not understand about dropping plastic crap on the ground. It always winds up in a water way somewhere. If only it was there backyard pool they might think twice or do something about it.
I already had to take issue with some fishos the other week, who right in front of me as i sailed past, just threw a couple of bait and ice bags overboard into the water. My language was not very choice but they got the message and circled around and picked up their rubbish. Though they probably just dropped it further out in the harbour.
Do we want to become like some areas in China and Indonesia where the rubbish is just dumped in the rivers to drift out to sea, choking the fish and bird life and making it really filthy in the water for other users.
So if you ever catch a plastic bag fish on your centre board, remember that some lazy bugger threw it away instead of at least putting it in the bin.
End of rant. Any ideas ?

Perhaps the answer is to make plastic bags worth something, ie if you want one for your shopping then you will have to buy it. Aldi and Target do this already. Also what ever happened to paper bags for shopping? I remember then when I was a kid.

The other issue is many Australians are litter bugs. Many could not be bothered to make an effort and put rubbish in a bin and if a bin is not around, to hold onto the rubbish. There was the 'keep Australia beautiful' anti litter campaign back in the 80s. Nothing much seems to have happened since then so a generation or two have not been encouraged to do the right thing and put it in the bin.

Well done on speaking up to those who know no better, and cleaning up around the foreshore too. Me myself have been impressed by how little rubbish there is on the beaches up north and around seaside towns. People are getting the message slowly, if not all the 5,000 000 people in Sydney. As for bio plastic! Well it could make people think it is ok to throw it away when its not.

I can emphasise with you.

Been in and around the Swan river since the late seventies as a nipper. Still windsurfing there regularly. We use to spend summer weekends with the family dragging a prawn net around and eating them on the foreshore and never found anything in the net except prawns/jellies or weed.(mostly jellies and weed).
I was down at Crawley the other weekend with the kids SUPing etc and was saddened by the amount of crap in the water and on the shore.
Ended up by getting the kids involved with a bag each and collected half a rubbish bag full of plastic and S%&t. And that was only a 100m stretch of beach. Loads of families sitting amongst the rubbish ,eating picnics then just packing up and leaving.

We need to re-focus. Instead of driving around on Australia day with Chinese plastic flags hanging out our car windows shouting Aussi,Aussi..oye,oye,oye, we should be getting ours and the kids hands dirty and keeping this wonderful country from becoming just another heavily populated and polluted dirty city /country.

Like the Hilltop Hoods lyrics suggest ???Australia!!.... We need a F%*&^ing shake up!.???

thanks for the support guys
i grew up on the banks of the Swan river in the 60s 70s near point walter it was an amazing place to be a kid. I am a bit disappointed now when i take my kids back there to show them where their old man grew up. It is probably only that in my memory it was pristine. i also grew up opposite a tip that was used to reclaim the sports field in applecross. That thing was a kids paradise for junk but imagine what is leaching out of that these days into the river.
When I was in Tassie a couple of weeks ago the super markets all charged for plastic bags and just about every body had there own shopping bags with them. i actually felt a bit embarrassed that i had to buy a bag, stupid Sydney person.
this should be compulsory all around australia, the only way to change most peoples behaviour is by hitting them in the Hip pocket nerve.
Any way sail on

hugo

My local hardware store is doing the right thing. Customers still want bags, so they use biodegradable ones, so everyone wins.

From my experience walking the dog along the beach, I think most of the rubbish washed up has come from boats.

As windsurfers we should make sure to take with us the electrical tape we use to seal the mast joint. In a popular rigging area I was saddened to find at least a dozen discarded lengths, no use to criticize others if we cannot do the right thing ourselves

Bunnings doesn't supply bags. You are free to bring your own, or take a cardboard box from the pile.
Have to admire. Probably wouldn't happen if they had any competition.

To support what Mobydisc said, make them 50c each.

Make each glass and plastic bottle or an Aluminium can 50c too, and make the retailers buy them back or exchange for the new ones.
Make it worthwhile to bring them back. So if you have money, feel free to throw away.
Kids and people struggling for money will collect them and make pocket money.

A couple of things that annoy me is the fact that nearly every plastic/glass bottle up here in QLD has a "10c Refund at Collection Depots at SA/NT State Territory of Purchase" style tagging on them. Problem is that it is for SA and NT only. If they went this way up here in QLD it would clean up the streets big time. I traveled to VIC at the start of the year to find that most of the streets were so pristine clean. Not that way up here at all.

Second big hate is the lazy sods who leave their rubbish on tables at the local shops. when there is a bin right next to them. It makes it hard to find a clean table when you have two kids. The cleaners are not there to pick up rubbish after filthy pigs. They are there to wipe tables clean as quick as they can to allow reuse.

My Rant Over.

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Obelix said..

Bunnings doesn't supply bags. You are free to bring your own, or take a cardboard box from the pile.
Have to admire. Probably wouldn't happen if they had any competition.

To support what Mobydisc said, make them 50c each.

Make each glass and plastic bottle or an Aluminium can 50c too, and make the retailers buy them back or exchange for the new ones.
Make it worthwhile to bring them back. So if you have money, feel free to throw away.
Kids and people struggling for money will collect them and make pocket money.

You reminded me of a place we use to holiday. The local pub use to offer 10c for each glass soft drink bottle returned. We use to look all over the campsites for them, and there would never have been one lying around for long. Great idea.

In the USA recently, in Oregon, at the local supermarket they had this bottle bank type thing where they would return bottles and get money. From the look of it it was automated and there were lines of people waiting to use it. It obviously works there.

Here the most stupid answer in the world when I ask Coles why they were still polluting with free plastic bags:
Dear Mr Savina

Thank you for your email regarding the use of plastic bags at Coles.

Coles takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and is committed to reducing consumer reliance on single use plastic bags.

Coles does not support a ban on plastic bags in all states of Australia because our customers have told us they would like the opportunity to make an informed choice. However, we are committed to encouraging our customers to use reusable bags when shopping in our stores.

We now offer a range of reusable bags for sale in prominent locations in our stores. These include:

- Reusable plastic bags $0.15 cents
- Polypropylene bags $1
- Non-woven Polypropylene bags $2
- Chiller bags $2.50
- Juco bags $3
- Other seasons and promotional bags.

We proudly donate five cents from the sale of each Landcare bag to Landcare for funding school and community gardens.

We also provide recycling bins in all of our stores in (state) to receive plastic bags that are returned by customers.

In some states, we have extended our in store recycling program to include flexible soft plastic recycling (e.g. biscuit packs, confectionery, shopping bags, rice and pasta bags, produce bags, frozen food bags and old reusable bags).

We recognise that our customers have different views about plastic bags and by offering our customers choice we believe we are respecting all customer views.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact us. We hope the above information has clearly explained our position and demonstrates that we are committed to plastic bag usage reduction and to recycling in our stores.

Regards

Troy Agostino
CUSTOMER CARE CONTACT CENTRE

So if you see plastic bags in the see, it is basically your own choice

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jusavina said..

So if you see plastic bags in the see, it is basically your own choice

Trouble is is that a lot of the ones I see are bait bags, and logic would suggest that the odd plastic bag comes from the same source. So, what would stop the same person throwing all their rubbish overboard?

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jusavina said..

So if you see plastic bags in the see, it is basically your own choice

You probably noticed when you were over here that no big store supplies bags (of any sort)

Yep, this why they replied me that:

"Coles does not support a ban on plastic bags in all states of Australia because our customers have told us they would like the opportunity to make an informed choice."

When I told them plastic bags had been banned in French supermarket...

I didn't bother sending an email to Woolworth, they for sure as bad As Coles.

singlet bags are banned in the ACT.

Nice work guys it is good to see this is something that windsurfers care about. What states or territories actually have banned plastic throwaway bags ?

I drove to the Flinders ranges last year and it was noticeable that as you went in to S.A that the road side rubbish was way less than in NSW, I guess because they have a refund policy on bottles and cans. Bloody good idea.
Is there such a person as a bottle collector we used to call them Bottleo's any more , they would come around and collect bottles and pay you for them.

Out near broken hill there is a bottle tree with hundreds of empty bottles stuck on it, you would not collect enough throw away bottle to make this public art in S.A

Any way keep up the anger !

Good you bring this up as a sailor at Wellington Point Brisbane I'm discussed in the people who just eat there food then just leave there rubbish on the ground often I see the young ones parked in the car park open there car door & put there rubbish on the road where there are bins right in front of them they are just so lazy. The problem is the wind picks up & its often blow out into the bay & eaten by turtles etc.
Wello being a peninsular if rubbish is not put in the bin it ends up in the bay I often pick up rubbish in my rigging space.

picture of the Plastic bottle tree on the way to Broken Hill. At least it is one use for Plastic bottles.

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Dungbeetle said..

I can emphasise with you.

Which point do you want to emphasise? Or do you empathise with the first post?

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westozwind said..

Dungbeetle said..



I can emphasise with you.

Which point do you want to emphasise? Or do you empathise with the first post?

Ah yes..... empathise, nice pick up!