About 100 volunteers will descend on Rottnest Island today as part of an international effort to clean up Australian beaches.
Parley for Oceans has teamed up with Corona to launch a national beach clean-up and education series to bring greater awareness to the issue of plastic in Australian oceans, and encourage the reduction of single-use plastic consumption.
Fifteen locations around Australia have been selected for the initiative, including Mullaloo Beach and Rottnest Island in Western Australia.
Participating in the clean-up is free for volunteers with the Rottnest Island Authority waiving admission fees. Rottnest Island businesses, SeaLink and Hotel Rottnest are also supporting the clean-up event.
As noted by Tourism Minister Paul Papalia:
“Rottnest’s reputation as a sustainable tourism destination is continuing to grow and it is great to see the importance of protecting our A Class reserve recognised at an international level.
“We know that people are extremely interested in, and passionate about, Rottnest Island and we want to ensure it will be enjoyed by visitors for generations to come.
“I would like to extend my thanks to the volunteers who get involved in initiatives like Corona x Parley Beach Clean Up and give up their time to help keep our destinations free of plastic.”
As noted by Environment Minister Stephen Dawson:
“Since July 1, 2018 the McGowan Government’s plastic bag ban has stopped around 225 million lightweight plastic bags from ending up in landfill – or worse still – in our oceans.
“With predictions that there is likely to be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050, we need to be doing everything we can to reduce our use of single-use plastics.
“It is fantastic to see Western Australians owning their impact and taking action against plastic pollution on their local beaches.”
