To live in Such a wonderful place like Port Douglas is truly a blessing. People pay thousands of dollars to come here and holiday to experience the magic this area has to offer. I feel so lucky to live here. When I walk down our beach and see rubbish all along the beach it makes me really sad, not only does it harm plants and animals and the ocean, its horrid to look at. This web site is a plea to all tourists, boaties, locals and anyone who enjoys our beaches and ocean to keep it clean... and take all rubbish with you.

PLEASE KEEP 4 MILE CLEAN

Four mile pics

Surfrider Foundation

Surfrider is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of Australia's oceans, waves and beaches for all people through Conservation, Advocacy, Research and Education.
I am a member and the only beach representitive in this area.... I would recomend for anyone to join their local branch of Surfrider and support this worthy cause before our beaches end up like this:

I am really pleased to see Peter Garrett and his initiatives on plastic bags. I know that it will not stop all the pollution but it will save the life of many marine animals. In my opinion if people want to use plastic bags they should be paying for them. I bring my canvas bag everywhere with me, I always say no to plastic when I only have a couple of bags. I don't agree with going to paper bags unless they are made of %100 recycled products... no more trees need to die for our sake. I would love to try and get Port Douglas plastic free there are other cities that are like this, I am going to look into it! If anyone has any ideas please email me!
Article

I was just looking around and found this horrible picture on the planet ark web site almost brought me to tears... this is why I hate plastic bags!

Why are plastic bags a problem? from www.planetark.com
  • Every year 20 million Australians use around 5 billion plastic check-out bags.
  • A person’s use of a plastic check-out bag can be counted in minutes however long it takes to get from the shops to their homes. Plastic bags however, can take between 15 and 1000 years to break down in the environment.
  • In the marine environment plastic bag litter is lethal, killing many birds, whales, seals and turtles every year. After an animal is killed by plastic bags its body decomposes and the plastic is released back into the environment where it can kill again.
  • A Bryde's whale died on a Cairns beach after ingesting 6 square metres of plastic - including plastic bags. Such obstructions in animals can cause severe pain, distress and death
  • On land, plastic bag litter can block drains and trap birds. They also kill livestock. One farmer near Mudgee NSW, carried out an autopsy on a dead calf and found 8 plastic bags in its stomach. The loss of this calf cost the farmer around $500.
  • # Plastic bags are not free to consumers they are actually adding an estimated $100 million a year to Australia’s grocery bills.
  • At least 80 million plastic bags end up as litter on our beaches, streets and parks. Australian local and State Governments spend over $200 million a year picking up litter.
  • Not all litter is deliberate. 47% of wind borne litter escaping from landfills is plastic – much of this is plastic bags.
  • Over 200,000 plastic check-out bags are dumped in landfills every hour.
  • Only 5% of Australia’s plastic bags are currently being recycled, despite recycling facilities being available at major supermarkets.
  • In many council areas, plastic bags are the single main contaminant of kerbside recycling.
  • Plastic bags are a by-product of the oil industry. Over 3 billion HDPE plastic bags are imported into Australia every year.
  • Since March 2002, Ireland has reduced its plastic check-out bag usage by 90% and in April 2003 Coles Bay in Tasmania successfully banned plastic check-out bags in all their retail stores. In the first twelve months, Coles Bay stopped the use of 350,000 plastic check-out bags.
  • Planet Ark has since worked with the communities of Huskisson, Kangaroo Valley, Mogo and Oyster Bay in NSW and Birregurra, Cannon’s Creek, Metung and Murtoa in Victoria to help them also become Plastic Bag Free Towns.
  • Over 10 million reusable bags have now been sold by Coles, Woolworths and Safeway stores. At only $1 each, they're a cheap way to save Australia's wildlife!

What you can do
Remember that stormwater drains flow straight to our waterways. Don’t throw any litter in the street or gutter because it might end up in the ocean or on the beach.

If you go fishing, make sure you take all your rubbish home with you. That means all your bait bags and lunch wrappers and cans as well as any snagged line and worn-out gear like old nets.

Don’t wash your car or do a grease and oil change on the road or driveway because the detergent and oil will wash down the stormwater drain and flow into the ocean untreated, poisoning marine animals and plants.

Create less rubbish in the first place. Don’t buy products that are ‘overpackaged’ wrapped in individual packs or several layers of plastic. Buy products in biodegradable packaging. Re-use your plastic shopping bags, or take cloth ones to the shops.

Tell your friends and family or anyone you see littering about the dangers of rubbish to marine animals and encourage them to do the right thing with litter.

If you see an injured marine mammal, bird or fish, report it to DoE on the marine parks hotline 1300 130 372 at any time. Tell us about any dead animals too.

Join a Coastcare group. As part of a team you can do even more to look after your coastline. Plenty of environmental projects need to be done. The more people helping the more can be achieved.

From the EPA Click here for more info

Us anti-rubbish people have had a small victory... the QLD government is enforcing new and harsh litter laws as of the 1st of Feb 2008, check them out : New Laws

Follow this Link for facts on plastic and the damage it does.

Check out Keep the sea plastic free for more info on plastic in our seas.
Contact heather@keep4mileclean.com