Group shot. Volunteers from BeachPatrol and Friends of the Great South West Walk collected 317kg of rubbish.

A determined group of volunteers carried 315 kilograms of marine debris out of a remote section of the Cape Bridgewater coastline on Saturday, removing more than 4,720 individual pieces of rubbish.

Twenty-two people took part in the clean-up at Cape Bridgewater East, towards Murrells Beach, including members of BeachPatrol 3280–3284 and Friends of the Great South West Walk, together with representatives from Parks Victoria and Glenelg Hopkins CMA.

It was a glorious day to be out on the Great South West Walk, with the sunshine even bringing out the group’s first snake sighting of the season.

The clean-up targeted a remote stretch of coastline that cannot be accessed directly by vehicle. Normally, reaching the site from Murrells Beach would involve a walk of approximately four kilometres each way. The group was fortunate to gain access via a private road, reducing the walk to around two kilometres each way and making the removal of the debris possible.

Even with the shortened access, it was a physically demanding clean-up. Volunteers carrying bags of rubbish, fishing rope and other bulky debris first had to climb a large, steep sand dune from the beach to the top of the cliff, before carrying everything along the Great South West Walk to the vehicles.

“Midway through the day we looked at this enormous pile of debris and genuinely wondered whether we would be able to get it all out,” BeachPatrol 3280–3284 co-leader Colleen Hughson said.

“But everybody just got stuck into it. People made repeated trips, helped each other with the heavier items and kept going until the entire pile was out.

“One participant, David Haliczer, who is training for the Geelong Marathon, completed the track five times carrying marine debris. It was an incredible effort.”

The largest source of debris was fishing activity, including large quantities of fishing rope and rock lobster pots, cane, and bait baskets. International shipping litter was the second most common source, adding to evidence being documented by BeachPatrol of offshore and shipping-related waste washing onto south-west Victoria’s remote coastline.

While many people enjoy the spectacular Great South West Walk, marine debris continues to wash ashore along Discovery Bay and Cape Bridgewater Bay.

Walkers do a great job of picking up what they can, but much of the debris is heavy, bulky and located a long way from vehicle access. As a result, rubbish is sometimes gathered into piles behind the dunes or near beach access points in the hope that it can eventually be removed.

Saturday’s clean-up allowed the group to remove one of these existing piles, as well as collect debris directly from the beach.

Mary Lane, from Friends of the Great South West Walk, is one of 13 volunteers who regularly undertake trimming, mowing and upgrades along sections of the Walk. She welcomed the collaboration with BeachPatrol.

“I extend my thanks for BeachPatrol’s enthusiastic support and assistance with clearing the marine debris from a very popular stretch of the GSWW,” Ms Lane said.

“Coming from Warrnambool, Koroit etc., it shows the importance of volunteering to strengthen our local south-west Victorian communities.”

Ms Hughson said the clean-up highlighted both the scale of the problem and what could be achieved through collaboration.

“315 kilograms from one relatively small section of remote coastline is a sobering indication of the amount of marine debris continuing to wash ashore in this region,” she said.

“But there was also a tremendous sense of achievement. We had doubted whether we could physically get it all out, but by working together we did.

“There are many other places along these beautiful bays where plastic and other marine debris have accumulated because getting it out is so difficult.

“We hope we can work again with Friends of the Great South West Walk, Glenelg Hopkins CMA and Parks Victoria to tackle some of these other remote locations.”

The clean-up was supported by Glenelg Hopkins CMA and Parks Victoria.

One of the many positive outcomes of the day was that not everything collected went to landfill. Around half of the material removed from the beach has been taken to the Killarney Arts Residency, where it will be used as part of ‘Stories From The Sea’, a community arts project by Colleen Hughson, developed with BeachPatrol 3280–3284 and supported through the Regional Arts Australia Practice in Community program. As part of the project, BeachPatrol is undertaking a six-month residency supported by Moyne Shire Council through its Creative Residencies Program, creating opportunities for people to upcycle and create with marine debris collected along our coastline. Some of the fishing rope recovered on Saturday may eventually become a beautiful basket sitting in someone’s home.

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