Tag: containers for change

Caring for our Coastline

We all have a role to play in preserving, protecting and enhancing our pristine and wonderful coastline and beaches.

The City has outstanding local Coastcare leaders like Mike Norman and Don Poynton. Together, they have dedicated over five decades of volunteer work to help preserve, enhance and protect our pristine coastline and habitats, its rare and unique flora and vegetation communities, and the wonderful wildlife that calls it home, including Quenda and the Graceful Sun Moth. This incredible duo share their top five tips to empower you to care for our coastlines and enjoy our beautiful beaches.

Our natural coastal habitats need your help

Climate change is the biggest threat to our coastline, and we have already begun to see its effects on our local beaches. Coastal hazards, such as sea level rise causing coastal erosion and damages from storms, will only continue to degrade our City’s stunning beaches. There is a lot that residents can do to protect and conserve our natural coastal habitats.

Coastcare Tips

  • Enjoy long walks along the beach (not the dunes)

Native dune vegetation and dune structures can be easily destroyed if people or pets roam on the sand dunes. Friends Group volunteers try their best to maintain and revegetate the sand dunes with coastal seedlings. Admire their hard work from afar next time you visit the beach, or even enjoy the views from the City’s coastal shared path which runs the full length of the coastline.

  • Avoid fence sitting

Don’t climb or break the conservation fencing around the dunes, especially on the ocean side. Doing so will allow easier access for people and animals to enter the dunes, harming the vegetation and dune structures. Fencing is costly to repair and can take time to fix.

  • Keep our beaches pristine clean

If you have rubbish left from your fun day at the beach, be sure to discard it in the bins provided. Allow everyone to enjoy a beautiful, litter-free beach, even after you leave. Any rubbish you discard on the beach will likely end up as marine debris that can harm many sea creatures.

  • Recycle, don’t dump

Containers for change is a great way to recycle your drink containers rather than leaving them on the beach. Donations can be made to our Coastcare groups by depositing containers under the scheme ID C10379297.

  • Live sustainably

Help reduce the effects of climate change on our shores by limiting consumption, reusing, and recycling your waste and lowering your carbon footprint. Don’t just enjoy nature but do your best to take care of it so we can all keep enjoying our environment into the future.

  • Get involved

Even if it’s just for a few hours a year, helping out a Friends Group with some of its on-ground work will not only spoil you with stunning scenery, but you will learn more about the coastal environment and help restore the dunes and beaches!

Rubbish dumped in the sand dunes at Sorrento Beach

Get involved in caring for our coastline

There are a range of ways you can get involved with restoring and maintaining our coastline. You can volunteer with your local coastal Friends Groups. Some examples of Friends Groups’ activities caring for the coast include:

  • Revegetation and planting.
  • Monitoring and recording of flora and fauna.
  • Weed control.
  • Guided nature walks where you can learn about our natural areas.
  • Rubbish clean up.
  • Seed collection.
  • Community education (talks and presentations).
  • Fire prevention.

New and returning volunteers are always welcomed. Some events require registration, for others you may be able to turn up and introduce yourself. If you have a passion for nature and conservation, or are just interested to learn more and help the community, find out more about Friends Groups within the City’s webpage.

Protect our beaches at all times of the year

Abalone season is a time of year where there can be negative impacts on beaches. Coastal vegetation and fencing can be impacted by those trying to fish for abalone.

If you see anyone trampling on vegetation, littering, illegally parking, going into fenced conservation areas, or causing other disruptive behaviour on our beaches, please report incidents to our Field Officers by calling 9400 4000 or 1300 655 860 after hours.

Coastcare groups revegetating the sand dunes at Marmion Foreshore

 

Containers for Change trial

The City of Joondalup is calling on the community to make the trial installation of Containers for Change baskets across the City a success, reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and helping committed recyclers raise money.

It is estimated that 1.3 billion drink containers are used in WA each year.

Containers for Change gives people a 10c refund for every container they return for reuse.

Most aluminium, glass, plastic, steel and liquid paperboard drink containers between 150ml and 3L (with 10c marked on them) qualify for this scheme.

So far, exchange baskets have been installed across the City at Neil Hawkins Park, Joondalup; Tom Simpson Park, Mullaloo; Hillarys Beach Park; Burns Beach Park; Iluka foreshore; Sorrento foreshore and Mawson Park, Hillarys.

By installing these exchange baskets, it will make it easier for people to recycle their containers instead of disposing them in a bin destined for landfill. Collectors can then take the container from the basket and gain the 10c refund.

Joondalup Mayor Albert Jacob said the City of Joondalup was committed to reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and the trial was a fun way for residents to get involved in the Containers for Change phenomenon.

“We are home to some of the most passionate recyclers in Perth and these exchange baskets will make it easier to dispose of and collect containers and bottles,” he said.

“There is a real pay-it-forward component to this campaign, which I am sure our community will embrace.”

Containers for Change

The Containers for Change scheme (ran by Western Australia Return Recycle Renew – WARRRL) was designed to help reduce litter, improve recycling rates, create new business and employment opportunities across the State, and also provide a new way for community organisations and charities to raise money.

More information on how the scheme works can be found on the Containers for Change website. Start collecting by checking for the 10c mark on your container. If there is no 10c mark, please place the container in the general waste bin (this includes take away coffee cups). Find your nearest refund point.

The City have also installed Containers for Change exchange points in various locations. The exchange points are in the form of a basket or cradle attached to some of the existing bins. Whilst you are out and about, if you don’t want to take home your 10c container to return to the drop off point, place it in one of the baskets or cradles and let someone else gain or donate the 10c refund.

Some of the locations include:

  • Iluka Foreshore, Iluka
  • Mawson Park, Hillarys
  • Sorrento Foreshore, Sorrento
  • Tom Simpson Park, Mullaloo
  • Whitford Nodes, Hillarys
  • Outside Lakeside Joondalup Shopping Centre (Boas Ave)