It’s hard to believe, but Clean4Shore removed more than 88,000 items of rubbish from waterways around Hexham in 2024 alone. Since starting its work in local waterways in 2019, the group has cleared tonnes and tonnes of waste.
Clean4Shore is an award-winning not-for-profit community organisation that was founded by Graham “Jono” Johnston OAM on the Central Coast. In 2019 the group expanded to the Hunter region after Jono discovered litter was an even bigger problem than he thought in the local waterways.
“As a group we have been working the Hawkesbury and Brisbane catchments, but I had been driving over the Hexham Bridge for 20 years wondering what rubbish lay below.
“One day I pulled up on the Heatherbrae side and had a look, I was overwhelmed. It was the worst litter I had ever seen.
“You honestly don’t see it unless you go and find it. The rubbish pushes up into the mangroves and all the way in. That’s also why we undertake all our clean up missions by boat, you can’t access it any other way,” Jono explained.
The tonnes of rubbish the group has collected since 2019 in the area has mostly been hard and soft plastics. In 2024 there were 99 field trips, 40.85 tonnes of waste removed and 88,704 individual items collected by 909 volunteers.
“Our aim is to protect the wetlands and I believe we are making a difference.”
Jono doesn’t do it alone, he has an army of volunteers including community members, local businesses who send their employees along, school groups, politicians and many more.
Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG) are regular visitors to the program. In November last year the NCIG team helped remove more than 1.14 tonnes of waste in just half a day including car tyres, building materials, plastic drums and buckets, bottles, cans and more.
They went back for another day in March which yielded similar results collecting 500 kilograms of rubbish including plastic bottles, old crab traps, paper packaging and food wrappings. They even found an old metal safe! Even though there was no visible rubbish at Hexham Island that day four full bags were collected.
Jono said they wouldn’t be able to do it without the financial support they receive from Hunter Local Land Services, Port Stephens Council, the Environment Protection Authority, LandCare NSW, Hunter National Parks and others as well as the in-kind support from many others.
| You can find out more about Clean4Shore by following them on their Facebook page. |
