“ I ’ ll be there ,” that was all it took for Keith Luke to commit to a project that would change his mind about the consumer and throw away world . A project that is forever fighting a battle to keep some of the world ’ s most pristine environments free from the discarded remnants of a world that consumes and disposes at an alarming rate .
“ I was camping in Cooktown ,” explains Keith after he had somewhat been forced to settle due to uncertainty with Covid pandemic border closures within Australia . He was just five months into a ride around the country .
“ I rode on Chilli Beach for five or six kilometres and the amount of rubbish I saw was ridiculous .”
A chance chat with a fellow camper led to discussions with Mathilde and Dan , coordinators with Tangaroa Blue , a charitable foundation dedicated to the preservation of Australia ’ s marine environment through the Australian Marine Debris Initiative .
“ They told me about the projects and what they do ,” Keith went on . “ I liked what I heard and asked about Chilli Beach .”
A five day clean up was planned for five weeks ’ time and as Keith says , “ the stars just seemed to align .”
Tangaroa Blue was created around 17 years ago and in that time has removed more than 17 million pieces of marine debris from shorelines around Australia . Let ’ s not sugar coat this , marine debris is a subtle way of saying rubbish … our rubbish .
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