Keeping our harbour clean and beautiful

Published on 01 June 2020

We recently partnered with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) to install six marine-cleaning SeaBin devices around the Club premises in Rushcutters Bay – just in time for World Oceans Day (8 June).

The SeaBins – part of the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s, Waste Less Recycle More initiative – will remove 8.4 tonnes of marine litter from the bay each year.

“The Club is keen to ensure we do all we can to limit our impact on the environment – whether we’re on the water or off it,” CYCA Commodore Paul Billingham says.

“The installation of these devices around the CYCA will make a big difference to the local aquatic environment, ridding the area of much mixed marine litter and general debris including water bottles, food wrappers and other rubbish.”

Mayor of Woollahra, Councillor Susan Wynne, said she was delighted to partner with the CYCA on the installation of the SeaBins which will help keep our beautiful harbour clean.

“We all need to take an active role in preventing pollution from entering our waterways and reducing the amount of litter in Sydney Harbour," the Mayor said.

“Council's 'Love our Harbour' program provides us with the opportunity to work with the local community and organisations like the CYCA on steps we can take to look after one of our most precious natural assets – Sydney Harbour.”

Thank you for binning your rubbish

Anything dropped or left in gutters – like plastic bottles, coffee cups and cigarette butts – gets washed down the drains and ends up on our beaches. Always put your rubbish in the bin.

One of the most common pieces of litter found in our waterways and on our beaches is cigarette butts. To help everyone bin their butts responsibly, we are installing six new cigarette butt bins around Rushcutters Bay, Watsons Bay and Rose Bay.

Get involved

Keeping our harbour looking clean and beautiful is everyone’s responsibility. Here are some of the things you can do:

• Pick up litter whenever you see it on our beaches, in our parks and on our streets.
• Sign up to our HarbourCare program and report back to us on the types and quantities of litter you find.
• Join one of the amazing community groups dedicated to keeping our harbour clean – like Splash without the Trash or Responsible Runners.
• If you see someone littering from their vehicle you can report it to EPA and fines of $250 for an individual and $500 for a corporation can be issued.