News
Great Butt Hunt 2023
Wednesday, 06 Dec, 2023
It was a weekend victory for the ocean with almost 20,000 cigarette butts removed from four locations across Australia!
Sea Shepherd Australia volunteers and the No More Butts organisation joined forces for the inaugural Great Butt Hunt at Surfers Paradise Beach on Gold Coast and Rye Beach at Mornington Peninsula to combat the issue of cigarette butt pollution.
29 community volunteers joined the hunt for the single-use plastic butts, removing them from the marine environment. The team at Surfers Paradise Beach on the Gold Coast collected just under 15,000 butts! The team was led by our Sea Shepherd Marine Debris Coordinator Grahame Lloyd, and joined by No More Butts founder, Shannon Mead
“Cigarette butts are the most littered item in Australia, with an estimated 8.9 billion being littered each year. Containing toxic chemicals and heavy metals, they poison the soil and water. “Cigarette filters are single-use plastic and should be considered in future rollouts of state plastic bans. We’re excited that NSW is leading the way, seeking public feedback on a ban at the moment. Until then, there are a lot of butts we need to grab out of the environment”
Shannon Mead, No More Butts Founder
The crew at Rye Beach collected 873 butts, maintaining the TOP item position amongst all the trash. Combined efforts from all the community clean-ups culminated in a staggering 18,408 butts removed from the marine environment over the weekend.
The collaborative spirit between Sea Shepherd Australia Marine Debris Campaign and No More Butts exemplifies the power of collective action in addressing environmental challenges.
"We can have so much more impact when we work together to tackle these issues.”
Shannon Mead, No More Butts Founder
Huge thank you to everyone who joined our weekend events and helped make a huge impact for the ocean!
Find a local community clean-up near you here.