Northern Beaches Council is encouraging everyone to get involved in Clean Up Australia day on Sunday 4 March.

Clean Up Australia Day has been running for 27 years, bringing the community together to remove rubbish before it damages our parks, bushland, waterways and oceans.

With registrations now open, Northern Beaches Mayor Michael Regan is encouraging the community to help out at a number of locations across the area.

“It’s predicted by 2025, as much as 250 million tonnes of plastic could make its way to the ocean – that’s quite alarming.

“Plastic bags, food wrappers and drink bottles are some of the commonly collected items during the clean up.

“Marine debris in particular is not only unsightly, it’s dangerous to sea life, hazardous to human health, and costly to our economies.

“We live in such a beautiful area, so it makes sense for everyone to play their part and get involved in this great initiative,” he said.

Last year, hundreds of community volunteers and Council’s waste management staff collected almost nine tonnes of rubbish across 82 Clean Up Australia Day sites on the Northern Beaches.

Mayor Regan said there were numerous events already registered across the Beaches including Narrabeen Rock Pool, Bayview, Lionel Watts Oval, John Fisher Park, as well as many offshore communities.

Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) and Dive Centre Manly, will remove, record and report rubbish found underwater at Manly Cove as part of a global marine debris survey organised by Project AWARE, a movement of scuba divers around the world working towards a clean, healthy ocean. Over 5,000 items of underwater rubbish have been removed so far from the Manly area alone.

There is still plenty of time to sign up for an event. For more information visit www.cleanup.org.au/