Meet Andrew

The tiny turtle
with a big story!

Andrew’s First Journey

Andrew the green sea turtle hatchling was travelling from Queensland on his first journey south when he
ate a piece of litter!

Stranded!

Andrew washed up on a Central Coast beach and was found stranded on his back covered in sand.

Fitting easily into the palm of a hand, he was brought to
Taronga Zoo’s Wildlife Hospital
and treated for his injuries.

Andrew spent 16 months in care at the Zoo, eventually growing to over 9 kilos!

Free at Last

When it was time for him to return to the wild, Andrew was fitted with a small satellite tracker.

The tracker allows his carers to follow his journey, and learn more about the mysterious migratory patterns for his species. Andrew's story isn’t a unique one;

only one in 1000

sea turtles reach adulthood.

There is Hope!

We can give sea turtles like Andrew a fighting chance at survival by making a few simple everyday choices.

The NSW Government is working to reduce litter in NSW through the Don't Be a Tosser Campaign, and every action you take will help too.

We need a sea change,
and that’s where YOU come in!

Use our calculator to measure the amazing impact you can have from making a few small changes.

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  1. 1

    How many hot drinks do you take away in a week?

  2. 2

    How many drinks do you buy in plastic bottles a week?This can be everything from soft drinks to water

  3. 3

    How many straws do you slurp from on a weekly basis?

  4. 4

    How many take away meals do you have each week?

By choosing reusables, every year you could save:

0 Takeaway Cups
0 Plastic Bottles
0 Plastic Straws
0 Takeaway Containers

You use these items just once, but they last forever. Every piece of plastic ever created still exists somewhere.

Choose to Reuse

The majority of litter comes from items designed to be used just once! Fortunately, there are reusable alternatives to almost every disposable product.

Click the item to find out more

Reusable Coffee Cup

Coffee tastes better in a reusable cup.

Disposable cups appear to be made of paper, but the majority have a thin plastic lining making them unrecyclable. Aussies use 1 billion of these disposable cups every year.

If every Australian used a reusable cup, they would save around 1 billion single-use coffee cups from landfill every year!

Reusable Bottle

Bottle it!

Plastic bottles can take 450 years to break up, and while most are recyclable, currently only 1 in every 5 plastic bottles actually makes it into the recycling stream.

If every Australian chose to use a reusable water bottle they could each save around 129 single-use bottles from landfill every year.

Please dispose of plastic bottles properly, and be sure to utilise the NSW Government Return and Earn collection points to get a refund for all these containers.

Reusable Straw

The last straw.

Australians use 2.7 billion straws a year! Saying no to straws seems like such a simple action, but taking steps like this really do make an enormous difference to our environment.

If every Australian said no to straws or used a stainless steel reusable straw, we would save an average of 2.7 billion single-use plastic straws from landfill every year.

Reusable Container

Make your food NUDE!

Take away containers are 24% of litter volume in NSW. Take away containers and other food packaging such as cling wrap or polystyrene often end up in the ocean, eventually breaking up into smaller and smaller pieces. Meals-on-the-go may be convenient for us, but the rubbish can pose serious threats to marine life and our oceans.

There are lots of ways to reduce take away containers and other packaging:

  1. Make lunch the night before, being prepared means you’re not caught out buying take away food.
  2. Bringing your own reusable container or lunchbox - most take away shops are happy to use yours.
  3. Use a reusable container or beeswax wraps as an alternative to cling wrap for sandwiches and fruit.
  4. Try one “nude food” day per week, and see how easy it really is!

Get Involved!

We can all be part of the solution when it comes to protecting our oceans, especially in the school yard or business. Knowing where to begin can be overwhelming - so we’re here to help.

In 2018 we’re launching a program to support businesses and schools to reduce litter, by providing practical information and tips to protect their local environment.

Register for your Toolkit today!