Moreton Island Clean Up 2019

Moreton Island Clean Up March 16 2019

Whilst the rest of Brisbane was waiting for yet another spring storm to hit, numerous staff, guests and volunteers of Tangalooma Island Resort and Tangalooma EcoMarines partnered with  Ocean Crusaders in a huge Clean Up Event on the Eastern Beaches (surf side) of Moreton Island.

The clean up took place on Saturday 16th March from 9am through to 2pm when the tide was at its lowest, thus allowing access to as much of the beach as possible. Luckily while the rain came and went, there was a bit of cloud cover during the day, making it a bit cooler than the days prior, and providing perfect conditions for the clean-up.

One of the teams from Tangalooma Island Resort and the Tangalooma EcoMarines headed south of the Eastern Beach, where the majority of rubbish washes in from the ocean to clean a 2km section, while some of the other teams headed even further south than that. There was also a bus which transported a number of teams to help clean around 3km either side of the Middle Road track.

A number of 4WDs also headed further north to collect rubbish, which they then left in large bags for the Ocean Crusaders crew to pick up on their way back.

By 2pm the teams had completed their mission and the buses did a tour to pick up all the rubbish bags collected by the different teams. After picking up huge number of bags the crew then headed to enjoy a quick, well-deserved swim in the tea-tree stained waters of Blue Lagoon  before heading back across the island.

On Sunday morning, back at Tangalooma, an audit of the litter was held, together with a talk about what had been achieved during the event, which resulted in an astonishing 1,973 kg of debris being registered by the crane scales.

According to the audit from Ocean Crusaders, some of the rubbish found included:

• 3.9km of fishing line
• 1,144 plastic drink bottles
• 2,613 plastic lids
• 1,625 pieces of scrap rope
• 1,600 pieces of soft plastic
• 1,183 pieces of polystyrene
• 871 aluminium cans

The Tangalooma EcoMarines have previously held a petition asking for a ban on the mass release of helium balloons. With 273 balloons found during this event (many with streamers still attached) it is clear to see why this is so important.

Tangalooma Island Resort helped transport the Ocean Crusaders vehicles on and off the island, and provided accommodation for the crew as well as offered discounted transfers and accommodation for the other volunteers. Other partners in the clean up included Moreton Island Adventures, Australian Sunset Safaris, Sunrover Tours and National Parks along with Spinnaker Sound Marina who helped Ocean Crusaders cover costs and equipment.

In June 2020 Ocean Crusaders intends on running this event again and is hoping to make this an annual event from now on. If you are interested in getting involved next year, make sure you don’t miss out next time by joining our newsletter here.