DON’T be a GRUB DON’T be a GRUB

We know that 8 million tonnes of plastic enter our waterways around the world each year and it’s important that we do our bit.

That means doing several things including the new project to stencil our foreshore and to add signs onto our bins on the waterfront so that we really get the messaging out there. That we raise awareness around the impact of littering and waste. What that means for our beautiful foreshore, what that means for the marine life that we have out here. Whether it’s dugongs, turtles, pelicans, our seabirds.

We have some of the most beautiful waterways in southeast Queensland and we want to keep it that way. This may be our home, but these animals were here long before us, so we need to be sure that we're looking after them by taking responsibility for our rubbish.

All the litter that we find in our street or on the beaches, it's going to go somewhere, and it has to go into the bay here normally because we’re 80 percent surrounded by water. So that's where all the litter goes. Into our waterways. A lot of the plastic will just sit in the water for up to 500 years. Since the floods in southeast Queensland, we had so much later come up on our beaches and so much polystyrene. So, it's little items which are really making our marine life struggle. Think about picking up 10 pieces of litter a day or if you see something in the streets, please pick it up.

It is everyone's responsibility to act towards a sustainable future. Below are some small changes we can all make today that will have a positive impact on our future:

• use eco-friendly decorations instead of balloons and plastic confetti

• choose to walk, ride a bike or use public transport

• pick up after your pets and dispose of the waste appropriately to avoid contaminating stormwater systems and our oceans

• use one of our many water bottle refill stations

• plant natives in your backyard to encourage pollinators and other wildlife

• minimise your waste by avoiding, reducing, reusing and recycling

• visit Council's Rethink Waste page for more tips on reducing your waste. Across the Moreton Bay Regional Council area, you may come across some Environmental Messaging. These eye-catching bin signs and footpath stencils are designed to encourage our residents to reduce their waste impact on our local wildlife and marine environments. Waste that enters our waterways and oceans can become a choking or entanglement hazard for local marine life. The best way to help is to reduce and responsibly dispose of your waste.

Students return to Queensland’s schools this week and so do 40km/h speed zones around schools. Police are urging drivers to exercise both patience and caution on the roads to protect some of the most vulnerable in our community.

School speed zones across the state typically capture the high-traffic hours around a school and are clearly signed and are in place to create a safe environment for our children.

With last year’s number of lives lost on the road reached 299, the highest number in the last decade, Acting Assistant Commissioner Chris Stream is pleading with drivers to obey the rules so everyone, especially our children, can get home safely.

“Always be aware of the speed limits and your surroundings when travelling through school zones, as some of the commuters include children crossing the road on their way to, or from, school,” said Acting Assistant Commissioner Stream.

“Last year’s lives lost reached a record we did not want and this year, I hope to see more safe driving practiced.

“School speed zones are in place to protect our children, who are not as familiar with the roads as we are, and motorists can expect to see police out enforcing the reduced speed limits.

“Please be patient as you drive and if you live near a school zone, leave a few minutes earlier to account for the lower speeds.”

The safety of you and our children, starts with you and the decisions you make behind the wheel.

Since the start of 2023, 13 lives have been lost on Queensland roads.

For more information on backto-school road safety, visit the Department of Transport and Main Roads website at https:// www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Safety/ School-road-safety.