On Thursday 28 February, 80 volunteers rolled up their sleeves for Clean Up Australia Day and set to work clearing the St Lucia riverbank of rubbish.
In just two hours, our trusty volunteers had gathered over 3000 separate piece of trash, from the usual suspects (cigarett butts and plastic bottles) to the unexpected (car parts and shoes).
Unsurprisingly, many pieces of rubbish were made of plastic. Since it's not biodegradable, plastic waste can last for hundreds of years, leaching toxins and harming wildlife.
But thanks to the efforts of our volunteers, at least some of that plastic waste won't get the chance to wreak environmental havoc. After filling 20 wheelie bins with their spoils, the volunteers enjoyed free pizza and a talk about marine debris from Reef Check Brisbane Coordinator Rory Mullory.
UQ Sustainability would like to say a big thank you to everyone who showed up and lent a hand on the day, and to the groups who supported the event: UQ's Centre for Marine Science, Society for Conservation Biology UQ Brisbane Chapter, UQ GEMS and the UQ School of Psychology.
