By LUKE VOOGT
OCEAN Grove locals have taken to social media to vent their frustration at rubbish left lying around the town over Easter.
Kylie Burgess was just one of many residents fed up with seeing rubbish in carparks, streets and at the beach.
“I’m sick of picking up after others and seeing rubbish everywhere,” she said.
“I don’t like to judge or generalise but it’s always worse on the holidays when the tourists are here.”
Other residents posted photos of broken bottles dangerously half-buried in the sand.
Barwon Coast general manager Gary McPike said litter normally increased during the holidays.
“But you can’t attribute that to just tourists or locals – everyone contributes,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of conscientious visitors – it all comes down to people’s attitudes.”
Gary said the ultimate consequence of rubbish left in the town and on the beach was eventually it got into the ocean.
“Then it’s really hard to clean up,” he said.
“It gets into the food chain where it can do some horrific damage.”
Yet some of Ocean Grove’s youngsters are doing their part to reverse the growing tide of rubbish.
Gary said two students from Surfside Primary School wrote to him asking to put up a sign promoting the “Take 3” campaign later in the year.
The campaign encourages people to take three pieces of rubbish home. Gary asked beach-goers to follow the students’ example and get behind the campaign.
