Fishing and camping trip takes sad turn with 50kg find under sand: 'We couldn't leave it'
At first, it appeared he was just looking at a small piece of clear plastic, but when he tried to pick it up he discovered it was buried deep. 'It was all under the sand. We had to dig it up, because we couldn't go past it and leave it there,' he told Yahoo News.
Reuben estimates the sandy plastic weighed upwards of 50kg, making it tough to get off the beach in one piece. 'It was heavy with the sand inside it, we couldn't get the sand out without tearing it into two bundles,' he said.
The plastic was likely used in wrapping and had fallen off a ship, then washed onto the sand. But it wasn't the only piece of plastic on the beach.
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From large discarded bottles to tiny fragments, there was rubbish everywhere. He collected what he could and piled it into his 4WD, but he couldn't take it all. He's urging anyone driving through Noosa North Shore beach, about 8km north of Teewah, to stop and pick up some of the rubbish.
'It was sad and disappointing. I've been going up this beach for 20 years, and it never used to be like that. It used to be pristine, but it's not now,' he said.
'A lot of the rubbish would be from campers, but also what washes up adds to it. When I've been up before, the bins have been overflowing, so maybe they could increase collection, or even employ someone with a ute to clean the beach.'
Details of Reuben's story struck a cord online, with pictures of the plastic attracting close to 1,000 reactions. "It disgusts me seeing irresponsible people leaving rubbish on the beach, especially fishing tackle and wires," one person wrote. "Such a precious area. I have camped my whole life and was always taught to leave nothing behind except footprints," another said.
While some called for Noosa Shire Council to clean up the area, it said the part of the beach that was covered in rubbish is managed by the state government.
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Queensland's Department of Environment (DETSI) told Yahoo the amount of rubbish was 'disappointing' and the problem had 'noticeably increased' in the wake of Cyclone Alfred which made landfall in March, with more debris washing up.
DETSI said it has led several mass clean-ups around the area, and that it plans to continue to tackle the issue.
'We encourage people to put their rubbish in the bin, or take rubbish with them when leaving, to help us keep our beaches clean for the enjoyment of all,' it said.
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