Tassie Marine Debris Cleanup team sail into Hobart with 80,000+ pieces of rubbish

What: Tassie Marine Debris Cleanup team sail into Hobart with 80,000+ pieces of rubbish
When: 3pm TODAY. Sunday 13 March
Where: Victoria Dock, Hobart (opposite Henry Jones)

An exhausted crew of marine debris cleanup volunteers will sail into Hobart this afternoon after removing a record 80,694 pieces of rubbish from some of Tasmania’s most remote World Heritage beaches.

“A destructive wave of rubbish is trashing Tassie’s most wild and spectacular beaches. We’ve cleaned up over 80,000 pieces of marine debris over the past week alone” said clean up coordinator Matt Dell.

“Marine debris is choking our oceans, polluting our beaches and killing our sea life. It’s obvious that we need urgent action from both the Australian and Tasmanian Governments on this critical global issue”

The South West Marine Debris Clean Up embarked on its annual expedition last Saturday. 21 volunteers and three local fishing boats have spent the past week cleaning some of Tasmania’s most isolated beaches on the south west coast. Despite 5 metre swells, 10 fewer volunteers and some difficult beach landings, the cleanup team removed 1610 more pieces of rubbish than last year.
Matt Dell, clean up coordinator