Some of Thompson Beach’s residents gave up part of their Sunday last weekend to collect rubbish from around the town.

The good news is the streets around Thompson Beach were generally pretty clean, however there was a bit to be collected on Ruskin Road – some of it purposely illegally dumped.

Among the haul (pictured above) were tires, rims and a tin of paint. One of the more unpleasant finds was a bag full of crab shells, which no doubt was very much on the nose. There was also the usual detritus – bottles, wipes, bits of plastic and the odd drum.

Participating in the cleanup were Jeff Thomas, Trevor Lipsett, Jacqui Koerner, Ken Wade, Paul Jones and Jan and Ian Telfer. A big thanks to all of them for sacrificing their Sunday to help to keep Thompson Beach beautiful, adding to other efforts around the town.

When visiting Thompson Beach, you can do your bit by taking your rubbish with you when you leave or using the designated bins that can be found at the car park near Ruskin Road and at either end of town. If you’re walking along the beach (or anywhere else) and see rubbish, we’d appreciate it if you picked it up.

For those considering illegal dumping – just don’t. If you’re spotted, you’ll be reported and the fines are hefty. Awareness and monitoring are increasing in and around the town as residents rally to protect it, our section of the Gulf of St. Vincent and the National Park that surrounds the area.

Plastic pollution isn’t just unsightly, it can kill. Up to 90% of seabirds have plastic in their gut according to a 2015 study. Birds can mistake plastic for food and when ingested, the plastic can block the digestive tract resulting in death through starvation.

Plastic pollution is a problem anywhere, but it’s particularly important to keep it out of aquatic environments.

There have also been numerous reports around the world of whales dying through eating plastics. In a very recent case, a whale in the Philippines was found to have ingested 40 kilograms of plastic bags.