10 Years of Clean Up for the Hatchlings

Clean Up for the Hatchlings began in 2014* under TurtleCare. This is a partnership between ReefCheck Australia, Sealife Sunshine Coast, Unitywater, Noosa Council, and Sunshine Coast Council with the aim of inspiring the whole community to come together to help our turtle hatchlings.

The first event in 2014 attracted 100 participants. Over time the clean-up has grown with our 2024 event hosting 643 volunteers across 22 sites along Sunshine Coast beaches including a snorkel clean up.

226.5kg of litter was removed during the 2024 event, the lowest figure since 2014. This was great news, less litter on the beach means (amongst other things) the best start in life for our turtle hatchlings. While we cannot say for certain, it is likely that this reduction in litter can be attributed to a mixture of the following activities:

• Plastic bag ban
• Introduction of ‘Return It’ scheme for bottles and cans
• More people doing the right thing in terms of recycling
• More people doing their part and picking up litter when they visit the beach.

We encourage everyone to do their part every time they go to the beach- ‘Every little bit counts’ – helps us create a turtle friendly community. Lets keep doing our bit, and hope to find less litter than ever in 2025!

*if you’ve done your maths, you’ll notice that it has been 11 years since the first clean up, however in 2022 the event could not occur in its usual form due to COVID restrictions.