2016 Cleanup Media Release

Team Clean gears up to stop Tassie’s wildest beaches being rubbished

A team of 20 hardy volunteers are preparing for their annual expedition to clean up some of Australia’s most remote beaches. Last year, the cleanup crew removed a record-breaking 79,084 pieces of rubbish that had washed ashore in Tasmania’s spectacular World Heritage Area.

“Marine debris is trashing some of our wildest beaches. We’re absolutely committed to fighting this toxic wave of rubbish that’s choking our oceans and destroying our marine life,” said clean up coordinator Matt Dell.

Over the past 15 years, this dedicated team have collected, counted and sorted nearly half a million items of marine debris.

“Marine debris is a critical global issue. We’ll be slogging our guts out to keep our beautiful beaches clean, and we’re asking the Tasmanian community to chip in and get behind us.”

Team Clean launched a crowd funder last week to help cover the costs of the 100% volunteer-run not for profit expedition.

The cleanup is used as an important tool for public education, advocacy and behaviour change. This year, for the first time, students from across Australia will have the chance to learn about the impacts of marine debris first hand via an on-line interactive educational blog, as teacher Pat Spiers joins the crew through a partnership with the Bookend Trust. The cleanup team is calling on interested schools to register now and get involved.

“We need all hands on deck to tackle this crucial issue, and help protect Tassie’s globally renowned wild places, over 80% of marine debris globally is derived from the land, we need to stop the rubbish at the source” said Mr Dell.

The team of 20 dedicated volunteers will be jumping aboard three local fishing boats this Saturday and setting course for the wild southwest coast to tackle the wave of marine debris head on.

For comment, contact

Matt Dell 0419 922 887

Pozible crowdfunder – www.pozible.com/teambeachclean

Schools registration – https://expeditionclass.com/southWestCleanup.php

Cleanup blog – http://wha-marinedebris.blogspot.com.au/

A comprehensive photo library can be accessed at www.dropbox.com/sh/gcby9q97b3g0uno/AABdW-fQAbSnboYPXeZJfDZDa?dl=0

Please help us on our Pozible Crowdfunder

Register to join us on the 2016 Cleanup

How are your sea legs?
Can you live without your phone and the internet for a week?
Do you like Beach combing?

We are seeking some keen, capable and hard working volunteers to join us on our annual South West Marine Debris Cleanup. Weather dependant the boats will be departing on the 6th of March and we will be away for between 6 and 8 nights.  If you are keen please register HERE 

Volunteers Wanted

Are you a teacher or educator who does not get seasick, and would like to join the cleanup crew for the 2016 cleanup in early March? The Bookend Trust is offering the chance for one lucky person to produce an on-line interactive blog for students across Australia. More information can be found HERE

1% for Planet to lend a helping hand

This week the Wildcare Coastal Custodians where privileged to be accepted into the 1% for the Planet not for profit groups. these not for profit organisations and groups are eligible to receive donations from companies that have registered to donate 1% of their profits to support environmental and social projects around the globe.  Many thanks to the people at Patagonia Australia for facilitating this exciting initiative.

Jess Leitmanis the Rope Magician

Jess was the lucky recipient of the 2015 crowd funding place on the cleanup.  Jess is a small plastic master and as you can see from the photos above a very talented plastic rope weaver.  She has been offered a return spot on the 2016 edition. Check out more of her fantastic work on jessleitmanis.com

Tassie marine debris cleanup nets national environment award

The Tasmanian Southwest Marine Debris Cleanup has received a national award for its outstanding work removing rubbish from remote World Heritage beaches in the state’s southwest.

Cleanup coordinator Matt Dell travelled to Perth on Tuesday night to accept the Environment Award on behalf of himself, cray fisherman Dave Wyatt and expedition volunteers at the Australian Seafood Industry’s annual National Conference.  

“Marine debris is poisoning our ecosystems from the ground up. With total global plastic production doubling every ten years, this issue is not going away anytime soon,” said Mr Dell.

“We have collected, counted and sorted nearly half a million items from within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area over the past 15 years. This year alone, we removed over 79,000 pieces of rubbish from Australia’s most wild, spectacular and remote beaches.

“We continue to work with the Tasmanian Fisheries Industry Council, the Tasmanian Rock Lobster Association and the Tasmanian Abalone Council to identify and minimise the potential waste sources within the Tasmanian fishing industry and remove them from the production cycle.

“We can all do our bit in tackling this globally critical issue. We need to stop the rubbish getting into the ocean in the first place. Here in Tasmania, the Government needs to show they’re serious about protecting our World Heritage Area. They must take urgent action and introduce long-overdue container deposit legislation” concluded Mr Dell.