Australian not-for-profit organisation, Clean Coast Collective , is accepting applications for their 2017 Trash Tribe expedition to Chilli Beach on the Cape York Peninsula. On their last expedition to Chilli Beach, a group of 16 creative and passionate young Australians spent a week removing coastal pollution from the 6 kilometre beach – in total, they removed over 3.1 tonnes of plastic and pollution.
This year, they hope to achieve the same result. Co-founder of Clean Coast Collective, Daniel Smith, said the premise of the Trash Tribe expeditions is to take a diverse group of people to remote Australia where the beaches are heavily impacted by ocean pollution, “These are some of Australia’s most polluted beaches and to be there on the ground, spending morning and afternoon removing rubbish, it is incredibly life-changing”. Globally, it is estimated that there are over 5 trillion pieces of plastic floating on the ocean’s surface, “On our last trip to Chilli Beach, we removed and counted over 90,000 individual pieces of pollution – which is a lot, but is still just scratching the surface”, Smith said.
To gain a spot on a Trash Tribe expedition, applicants must pitch an idea for a project they will run in their local community when they return home from the trip. “The idea is that we take people from all over Australia, from different interest groups and industries, and they then take the story and experience back to their communities. Through their projects, we can share awareness and education of ocean pollution across the entire country”, said Natalie Woods, Co-founder of Clean Coast Collective. “We want to see project ideas that are highly original and really push the issue of plastic pollution outside the ‘eco bubble’”, she said. The last Trash Tribe members held film nights, events, art exhibitions, and published stories on their experience in mainstream media outlets.
The Cape York expedition is run in partnership with Tangaroa Blue who also run the Australian Marine Debris Database – a national database that records all pollution removed from Australian beaches and waterways. Chilli Beach is on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula and runs parallel to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. People interested in applying can find more information at: www.cleancoastcollective.org/apply Applications close 5pm Friday 30 June.
