Mornington Peninsula Magazine March 2023

Great Barrier Reef beaches pick up Peninsula hand bins

The beach hand bin initially trialled on the Mornington Peninsula will now be tested on four beaches along the Great Barrier Reef. Part of the ReefClean project, which is funded by the Federal Government's Reef Trust and delivered by the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, the beach hand bin enables people to manage their waste at the beach.

One of the beaches will be Mon Repos near Bundaberg, which supports the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland and has the most significant loggerhead turtle nesting population in the South Pacific region. The success of nesting and hatching turtles at Mon Repos is critical for the survival of the endangered loggerhead turtle. Partners at the Turtle Conservation Centre have been logging data into the AMDI database, as debris often washes into this location or is left by visitors.

The other beaches taking part in the trial are Four Mile Beach at Port Douglas, Magnetic Island, and The Strand at Townsville, each having been chosen for different reasons. Resorts such as the Sheraton have been partnering with Tangaroa Blue on regular clean-ups and are willing to assist in the promotion and distribution of the hand bin at their venues.

The Strand is frequented by people swimming, walking, sunbathing and relaxing in Townsville. While this esplanade location is cleaned by the council, there are areas where debris is either left behind or washed up, and its high population density makes it an ideal location to run an education campaign about litter. Knowledge of the origin and drivers of marine debris and the impact of human activities are essential in the development of management strategies to target debris before it enters the marine environment.

Nearly a decade ago, scientists in Hawaii found that microplastics embedded in beach sand make it easier for water to flow through the sediment, which in turn affects how fast the sand dries out. As microplastics accumulate, they act as an insulator, preventing heat from reaching deeper layers of the beach and affecting the temperature of the sand. That in turn affects the sex of turtle hatchlings, which is determined by the temperature of eggs during incubation.

We hope the beach hand bin achieves its aim of communicating and educating as a tool to reduce land-based litter and will go on to become a legacy initiative across beaches in Australia.

JOSIE JONES - Follow me on Instagram @sharejosie