Glass will be banned at Port Phillip beaches and parks from July 1

GLASS will be banned at all beaches and parks in Port Phillip from July 1.

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GLASS will be banned at all beaches and parks in Port Phillip from July 1 under a push to curb injuries and litter.

It comes as life saving clubs reported cuts from broken glass were among the most common injuries treated along the foreshore.

Cr Katherine Copsey said the ban would “send a signal that glass and the beach don’t mix”.

“Hopefully the ban will get people to think twice before bringing bottles to our parks and foreshore, especially as there are so many easy recycling-friendly alternatives,” she said.

Cr Copsey, who regularly clears rubbish from Port Phillip beaches as a Beach Patrol volunteer, said it was “easier to prevent glass being broken on our beach than it is to clean it up”.

“One volunteer has reported kilograms of glass per week has been collected from Albert Park Beach over the last couple of years,” she said.

“Hopefully this (ban) will take the burden off some of our community groups”.

St Kilda Life Saving Club president Corey Lovell said glass-related injuries were “the biggest first aid activity” for the club daily.

“While the clean up is first rate, there is always going to be broken glass and broken bottles,” he said.

“Glass has to go.”

Port Melbourne Life Saving Club president Peter Bellion said glass cuts were the second-most common injury behind jellyfish stings.

Cr Tim Baxter said bans would help change the way “people treat our beaches”.

“I’m quite sick of going out on Beach Patrol and pulling glass out from between the rocks where my kids play,” he said.

“This (ban) isn’t going to absolutely solve the problem but it is a start.”

Councillors unanimously supported the ban.