Cooks River Day Out

Print made by someone at the Cooks River Day Out. To me it summed up the whole event.

‘Mike’ is Mike Baird MP & Premier of New South Wales. I hope he & his party listens to the loud call from the community for a Cash for Containers scheme to be returned to NSW. The environment needs it desperately.

Showing some of the tents at the Cooks River Day Out. They chose a great place to have the event because there was lots of shady trees where people could get respite from the heat,

We have just come back from a terrific time at the ‘Cooks River Day Out’ organized by the Cooks River Alliance & held in Gough Whitlam Reserve Earlwood.

One of the exhibits

There were lots of stalls providing information – The Cooks River Valley Association & The Mudcrabs, The Wolli Creek Preservation Society, the Total Environment Centre & the Ethnic Communities Council.  The Taronga Zoomobile brought along native animals inside fish tanks to view.

Travelbugs Mobile Mini-beasts brought along a number of stick insects, which were impossible to find until we had them pointed out to us. There were also a number of other living insects providing an educational display.

Gaawaa Miyay Designs was holding a very popular workshop where young & old were scratching designs on pieces of Styrofoam, which was then made into a print for people to take home. People had created some wonderful work.

Aside from the print-making, there were workshops on weaving, creating rain gardens, bush tucker & also guided bush tucker walks & Aboriginal history along the Cooks River.

Leon from Taronga Zoo with Spike the Echidna.

I saw my first echidna close up & what a gorgeous lively animal ‘Spike’ was. He was 10-years old & very used to being the centre of attraction at educational events.   When I asked what would happen if he were left to dig, the zookeeper said he would need a shovel to get him out of the ground. That fast!  Who knew.

Plus there was a Reverse Vending Machine for 10-cent refund on plastic bottles. I do not understand why these machines are not everywhere. NSW should have a Cash for Containers scheme. I remember people collecting cans & bottles on garbage night in the mid-90s. Instead we have an environment where drink cans & bottles are everywhere destroying the environment & causing great harm to wildlife. A Cash for Containers scheme is a no brainer.

It was a beautiful hot summer’s day despite still being winter.   People were seeking shade under the trees. The music was great & so was the atmosphere. It was wonderful to see so many local groups whose focus is to clean up the Cooks River, as well as to protect the environment. See my blog roll for contact details.

Well done to everyone involved. I hope this becomes a yearly event.

Volunteers of the Cooks River Valley Association with their new green t-shirt on display – “Cooks River – Safe to Swim by 2020.”

Volunteers of the Wolli Creek Preservation Society.

A Spiny Leaf insect, which looked just like leaves when in follage.

To end, here is a close-up of Spike the echidna. What a cute face.

 

Cash for Containers recycling scheme for NSW

Cooks River – this is not okay.

Potentially fantastic news for the environment with the state government saying they want to introduce a ‘Cash for Containers’ recycling scheme in NSW.

“Under the NSW scheme, schools & charities will be encouraged to raise funds by collecting containers for cash, likely to be set at a 10c rebate.  Beverages companies will be allowed to increase drink prices by the amount of the deposit, and only need to pay the deposit on redeemed containers.” See – http://bit.ly/1tzYRf8

Sadly the Australian Beverages Council “has threatened to run attack advertising against the Government during the March election if cabinet voted in favour of a container deposit policy.”

Their threat can be taken seriously because in 2013, Coca-Cola, Schweppes & Lion Nathan challenged the Northern Territory government in the federal court to try & stop their Cash for Containers scheme.

Personally I think it is reprehensible for these companies to do their utmost & put millions of dollars into attempting to prevent a scheme that is not only environmentally responsible, but also will go a long way to cleaning up our waterways, lakes & oceans.   Keeping the status quo of environmental destruction is extremely sad.

A ten cent rebate on drink containers in the Northern Territory resulted in a return of a massive 35-million containers in the first 12-months of the scheme’s operation.   How anyone can think that it is better to have 35-million drink containers littering the environment is beyond my understanding.

Locally, the Cooks River, The Alexandra Canal, Wolli Creek & Botany Bay will benefit immensely with the introduction of a ‘Cash for Containers’ scheme.

Most of us are appalled at the state of the Cooks River with thousands upon thousands of drink containers lining the riverbank.  They send a terrible message to everyone, especially the younger generation, about respecting & caring for the environment. Young people would benefit by having a way to earn pocket money & knowing that they are helping keep the environment clean at the same time.

The beverage companies must be aware that the bulk of the community are sick of seeing beverage container litter destroying our environment & waterways.   We want a clean environment & I doubt too many would be supportive of any attempt to stop a Cash for Containers scheme.

The Boomerang Alliance has said that a rebate scheme results in well over 80% of drink bottles & cans returned for recycling.   Any program that reduces litter has to be applauded.

Alexandria Canal in Tempe.  It distresses me to see the riverbank looking like this.