On Sunday 2 June, over 100 volunteers boarded kayaks, dragon boats and paddle boards to help remove rubbish for the ‘Moonee Ponds Creek Paddle against Plastic’.

The volunteers managed to collect over 1 tonne of rubbish, filling two 10metre by 2metre skip bins. All rubbish collected was sorted and entered into the Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database before being disposed of.

This was the first of 3 Paddle Against Plastic events held this year. The events are run by environmental group, Ocean Crusaders and supported by the Port of Melbourne.

It’s a sad fact that plastic and debris are an environmental and aesthetic issue for Melbourne waterways and are continuously washing into the Port of Melbourne and Moonee Ponds Creek from upstream. The Port of Melbourne are trying to eradicate and control the problem and employ regular contractors to help remove plastic and debris, but unfortunately this still isn’t enough. This is why Port of Melbourne are now engaging the help of Ocean Crusaders and the general community, in hosting 3 Paddle Against Plastic events this year.

Huge thanks to all of the volunteers who gave up their Sunday morning, to do their bit for the environment.

The dates for our upcoming Paddle Against Plastic events will be released soon.