The environment needs a guiding hand

In the last month alone, I have removed 11 bags filled with rubbish from our local streets and foreshore. That amounts to over 25 kg of rubbish which had previously been contaminating our local environment. And despite my best efforts to collect this rubbish and remove it from our landscape, it seems to multiply, creating a seemingly endless supply of plastic wrappers, face masks, paper, plastic, napkins, bottles, cans cardboard, and foil- amongst many other types of garbage that degrades our beautiful beach environment to dirty, disgusting, waste filled, industrialized land.

Australia is one of the biggest producers of waste in the world, and if you don’t believe me, just take a look outside. I filled up an entire garbage bag worth of rubbish in a three-block radius along the main road in Tootgarook, with still more there. Rosebud and Rye were even worse, as I filled up multiple bags along their foreshores, each time underestimating the amount of rubbish I would find scattered throughout the bushes and along the paths. This rubbish poses a threat to all animals in our ecosystem, who will likely die in result of our deadly garbage which invades their habitat. The rubbish isn’t just here for a few years either- it is here for the long haul and the exact same pieces of rubbish will likely still be a threat to our environment 1000 years into the future, ruining our beautiful environment for at least 40 generations.

So that leaves an onslaught of questions.

Why are we letting it clog our beautiful natural environment?

Why are we dropping it on the ground rather than simply putting it in the bin?

Why are we walking past rubbish on the ground as if it is invisible?

Why can’t we be bothered to pick up some rubbish that has made it into our front yards or nature strips?

Do we not care that it makes our streets and beaches look horrendously ugly?

Do we not care that it murders animals and damages environments?

Do you really want your great great great grandchild to have to pick up the rubbish that you lazily walked past?

Why can’t you take thirty seconds out of your day to pick up two or three pieces of rubbish?

Picking up a few pieces of rubbish every day isn’t difficult. You don’t have to go all out and pick up several bags of rubbish every week, just a few pieces every day, consistently. It can be done as you are out walking your dog or going for your morning run, and therefore doesn’t eat into your time. So don’t walk past rubbish believing that it is someone else’s responsibility to pick up. Because we all share responsibility of the rubbish on the ground, even if we didn’t put it there and walking past a piece of rubbish is as bad as putting it there yourself. I’ll admit, I didn’t start picking up rubbish for selfless reasons. I began picking up rubbish in order to earn a badge for Girl Guides. But even now, I still find myself collecting rubbish and placing it in the bin, because it leaves me- and will leave you too- with a huge sense of achievement. A sensation that you are actively making a change for our local environment rather than idly sitting by and ignoring the rubbish as it hides in our landscape like a parasite.

So lets all make a change for the better and begin to fight the tonnes of rubbish that lines our foreshore and streets. If you see a piece of rubbish, pick it up and put it in the bin. Begin to use items with less packaging so that there is less rubbish to end up in our environment. Make sure all your rubbish makes it into the bin, and call out those who simply throw it on the ground. These small changes will go a long way to ensuring that our beautiful area remains beautiful for generations to come. 

Sarah Wallace is 17 year old member of the Rosebud Senior Guides. She is currently completing her Queens Guide Award (the highest award in guiding) and for one (of nine) section of the badge,she chose to explore conservation in the Mornington Peninsula.