Busselton schools and Jetty Crew youth group take part in Statewide beach clean-up

Busselton’s future leaders were not afraid to get their hands dirty last week to clean up the city’s beaches and foreshore as part of an Australia-wide event. Over four days last week students from Busselton Senior High School, Cornerstone Christian College and Vasse Primary School joined the Busselton Jetty Crew youth leaders for the annual Tangaroa Blue West Australia Clean Up. The students collect rubbish from Busselton Jetty down to the Abbey Boat Ramp during the clean-up organised through the Busselton Jetty Inc’s youth leadership program Jetty Crew. Starting the clean-up on October 15, the students collected 995 pieces of litter — including plastic lids, food packaging and cigarette butts — that would have otherwise wound up the ocean. Jetty Crew program co-ordinator Jacqueline Bullard said it was great to see the community contribute to maintaining the beach. “This year was not just about picking up the litter but sorting it as well and I am so impressed by how everyone got in there and helped,” she said. “It was a great effort and proved that many hands make light work — a fantastic job, well done and thank you. The litter collected is to be sent to Tangaroa Blue, which will combine data from all the clean-up crew groups to see the total amount of debris removed from Busselton beaches over the four days. The data collected through the various clean-ups will help the Australian Marine Debris Initiative find solutions to help stop the flow of litter at the source by analysing and documenting the different types of debris found on our local beaches. Busselton Jetty Inc’s marine scientist Sophie Teede said marine debris were one of the biggest environmental issues affecting oceans and marine life today, with up to 40,000 pieces of plastic estimated to float in every square kilometre of our oceans. “It is wonderful to see the commitment from local schools and community groups working together to help clean up the beaches and keep our corner of Australia beautiful,” Ms Teede said.