Litter Prevention Brightens Bourke Street

Street Exhibition photo display for litter prevention

 15.4.16

Bourke Street, in the center of the busy city of Melbourne, saw a wonderful photo exhibition on litter prevention on April 15, 2016, prepared by the World Mission Society Church of God. Passionate volunteers wearing yellow vests were inviting the passers-by to view the photo displays, raising awareness about the current environmental issues. Attendees could free walk through the display as they wished, or take a guided tour.

The photo gallery shows how litter progressively finds its way into the waterways. Plastic is among the worst of all litter since it does not biodegrade easily. Plastic, disposed of carelessly through daily human activity, makes it way down the waterways and into the oceans. Plastic waste is broken down into microplastic through the crushing motion of waves. Birds, fishes, and other marine life often mistake microplastics for food, negatively impacting human health through the food chain.

The campaign evoked a strong emotional response through heart-wrenching photos of marine life entangled in litter, and disabled due to careless human activity. Photos also conveyed to the public, knowledge of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is currently polluting our oceans. Many people were shocked about the fact that the great pacific patch is taking up 40% of our oceans. The campaign suggests ways to litter prevention such as recycling, and also urging community action such as joining the Worldwide Environmental Cleanup Movement.

Sue Stevens commended Church of God after seeing the photo exhibition, “I would like to say, Great! Congratulations to the World Mission Society Church of God people. You are doing a fantastic job, making us aware that we are rubbishing our beautiful country. Keep up the good work! We all need to be responsible for our litter. You keep going strong! You have done a great job today, and we look forward to cleaning up our beautiful country. Thank you so much!”

A visitor to Melbourne who enjoyed the exhibition, said, “You are doing a great job for the environment. I have travelled a lot and have seen a lot of places that need to be cleaned up, for all of us, animals, people, and the earth.”

Hilda, a Church of God volunteer, said “Today was quite fun. I’m a volunteer who participates in the cleaning movement. I came today to show people about the seriousness of the litter problem. I think a lot of people don’t take it seriously enough. We need to take action!”

This campaign was successful with around 100 people viewing the display, and 15 people registering to be volunteers in future clean-ups. The campaign brings forth community litter prevention action and promotes positive change for people’s lifestyle.