SRAP-IEAP and ALCE contributed their efforts collecting marine litter and raising awareness of the on-going impacts of waste, in particular plastics, in oceans and estuaries during the week of Clean-up Australia. SRAP member Dr Ana Rubio discussed with ALCE students from Maroubra (Sydney) practical solutions to help us all live in a healthier and more sustainable environment.
Dr. Ana Rubio (left) with the ALCE students in Maroubra (Sydney).
Students were all aware of the issues of plastics in the environment but seeing the volume and type of rubbish really brought home the issue. Also we discussed the amount of time that takes for some products to decomposed- for example: fishing line takes 600 years, thick plastic bottles close to 500 years and cigarette buts 1 to 5 years. Both of the ALCE groups at Maroubra categorised and counted rubbish. With the older group we even created a graph to visualise the results. Some of the students also made a pledge to act on the issue.
Thanks Gabriel and Raquel for the collaboration with ALCE!
More photos:
