COVID’s massive Clean Up problem

Face masks and plastic takeaway containers kept us safe and satisfied during the pandemic, but millions of the items are now in our waterways and natural areas.

FACE masks and plastic takeaway containers were literally the stuff of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But millions of these items are now in our waterways and natural areas, creating a daunting task for Clean Up Australia volunteers tomorrow.

Used masks have become a dispiriting sight across suburban Australia since the pandemic hit, and have even been spotted in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Clean Up Australia spokesperson Pip Kiernan, daughter of the movement’s founder Ian, said many volunteers would be taking a count of face masks during tomorrow’s event.

Olympic silver-medal-winning swimmer Taylor McKeown is just one of the thousands of volunteers pitching in for this year’s Clean Up, which is set to be the biggest ever, with 300 more sites registered than the previous record.

The 25 year old, who will be vying for a spot in the Tokyo Olympics squad at the trials in Adelaide this June, said she was particularly moved to help by the sight of rubbish in the ocean.

“They say everything flows to the sea and that’s become more and more evident the more diving I do, not just in Australia but around the world,” she said.

“Any time I go diving if I see debris I’ll clean it off the reef. I can’t ignore it, I have to grab it and take it with me.”

Australian Olympic swimmer Taylor McKeown is taking part in Clean Up Australia Day on the Gold Coast. Picture: Adam Head

Ms Kiernan said COVID-19 lockdowns had driven increasing concern about litter, with households producing more packaging waste as a result of increased supermarket shopping and takeaways replacing eating out.

“Last year saw immense disruption to our lives and the environment. The uptick in single-use plastics including face masks, coffee cups, food delivery packaging and takeaway utensils has been concerning. The damage of single-use plastics left in the environment will outlive us all and action is urgently needed,” she said.

A recent survey showed 55 per cent of Australians were more concerned about packaging waste now than they were in 2019. Other research showed we use 3.4 million tonnes of single use plastics a year.

Last year, Clean Up Australia’s 683,000 volunteers pulled 17,000 ute loads of litter from the environment, and single-use plastics constituted 18 per cent of the haul, Ms Kiernan said.

Pip Kiernan took over as the chair of Clean Up Australia following the death of her father, Ian Kiernan, who was the charity's founder. The event has been going for more than 30 years. Picture: AAP/Troy Snook

The pandemic prompted many of us to change behaviours, with shoppers opting for packaged fruit and vegetables at the supermarket rather than loose items, and cafes refusing keep cups, with concerns some of those changes have now become habit.

“We adopted some habits that really were very damaging to the environment during the pandemic,” Ms Kiernan said.

“You don’t need to have your fruits and vegetables swabbed in plastic to be safe; they come in their own beautiful packaging, they can be washed, and it’s no safer to wrap them in plastic. Of course human health and safety is of paramount concern but now things are opening up we need to revert back to those good habits that really make a difference.”

Ms Kiernan said it was not too late for volunteers to register at cleanupaustraliaday.org.au and join a site, or start one of their own.

“People want to get out and do something practical. We saw a similar response last year after the bushfires. Each step we take collectively has a huge impact,” she said.

Originally published as COVID’s massive Clean Up problem