You adults! Time to learn how to keep it clean

On Christmas night the beach at the inner city suburb of St Kilda, just a short distance from the Melbourne Central Business District in Australia was trashed.

The revellers created chaos as they spilled onto the streets and drunken antics forced the closure of roads in the area around the foreshore. A total of 5.7 tonnes of rubbish (mostly glass), was left behind after the impromptu gathering of an estimated 5000 people. Items left behind also included shopping trolleys (used to take loads of alcohol down to the water), clothing, blankets, chilly bins, cartons, cans, plastic bags and plastic trugs.

A number of people were injured as a result of stepping on broken glass. Police resources from across Melbourne were deployed due to the large number of intoxicated people and alcohol consumption, which was in breach of a council by-law which banned drinking alcohol on the foreshore after 8pm. Two people were arrested for public drunkenness and assault. Some might find the low number of arrests a little surprising, but in a situation where there is a high level of intoxication, taking people into custody is not always the best solution, due the limited number of police officers and the general mood of the crowd.

It may also be that the police did not have the power to enforce a local council bylaw when people were drinking outside the specified time limit. As a result of the impromptu party, council workers subsequently spent all morning, on Boxing Day in 30 degree heat, cleaning up the foreshore, with some further clean-up occurring on the following days. The main issue is that the 40 additional rubbish bins on site were not used. Most of them were half full.

Before we start casting aspersions upon our neighbours across the Tasman and their ‘bad’ behaviour, let us take a moment to review the scene at the Bowl of Brooklands after the Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) concert, just a couple of Saturday nights ago. About 15,000 people (mainly adults) attended the concert. However, in spite of there being ample rubbish bins, strategically placed around the venue, the whole site became littered with bottles, paper and plastic.

Walking out through the ‘debris’ to the various exits, was a less than pleasant experience for many concert goers.

It may come as a surprise to some readers that under the provisions of Litter Act 1979, Every person commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5000 who deposits any litter or, having deposited any litter, leaves it (a) in or on a public place; or (b) in or on private land without the consent of its occupier. Where the litter deposited is of such a nature as is likely to endanger any person or to cause physical injury or disease or infection to any person coming into contact with it (being in particular any bottle whether broken or not, glass, article containing glass, sharp or jagged material, or any substance of a toxic or poisonous nature) that person is liable on conviction (a) in the case of an individual, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 month, or to a fine not exceeding $7,500, or to both.

It is pleasing to note in the Taranaki Daily News on 28 December 2017 that the new owners of the Kiosk Cafe´ at Fitzroy Beach are encouraging kids (and adults can help) to pick up rubbish along the beach, the park or the Coastal Walkway and bring their bucket to the cafe´ and receive a free ice block. Children are often acutely aware of ‘‘how we can make an impact on how we leave our land – it is a beautiful place and we want to keep it that way’’.

Have many of the ‘older’ generation who go to impromptu alcohol fuelled parties and large concerts delegated cleaning up their mess to council workers or concert organisers? Are we such a transient population now that we are often away from our home territory, so it is ‘‘someone else’s problem’’ if we leave litter lying around or make a mess at a park? I wonder if any thought at all is given to those who have to sort through the refuse and take it away?

We are fortunate enough to live in New Zealand, a beautiful country with many of God’s amazing creations and landscapes. Perhaps we can learn quite a bit from the younger generation who will (hopefully) grow up into adults who show considerably more respect for our planet. Every piece of rubbish we take responsibility for and dispose of appropriately is a step in the right direction and hopefully an example to others.