A massive clean-up of a riverbank campsite by locals has provided shocking evidence of Australia’s crippling cost of living crisis.
Last week, the organization Ocean Crusaders removed 820kg of waste from an abandoned homeless camp along Petrie Creek on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
The waste disposal included 14 shopping trolleys, pushchairs, clothes and furniture and it took four hours to remove the waste.
The cleanup took place after the homeless camp was vacated.
Ocean Crusaders is a nonprofit organization founded in 2010 that cleans waterways and beaches.
“Our crusade aims to raise awareness of the need to care for our oceans as we specialize in cleaning them up through commercial and community events,” Ocean Crusaders said on its Facebook page.
Ocean Crusaders founder Ian Thomson said his organization has been working regularly in the Petrie Creek area since 2017 and has seen an increase in litter along the riverbank.
The amount of waste included 14 shopping carts, strollers, clothes and furniture, and it took four hours to remove the waste
Ocean Crusaders removed 820kg of waste from the riverbank campsite
The cleanup took place after the homeless camp was vacated
“People spent time there, but with the homeless around and the amount of trash, it’s not that nice… it’s disheartening,” he said. Yahoo News.
Mr Thomson said local wildlife has also been affected by the waste.
He said since Ocean Crusaders have been conducting cleanups, he has noticed an increase in the local platypus population.
To help combat the homelessness crisis, the local Sunshine Coast Council launched the Sunshine Coast Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2023 last year.
At the launch of the initiative, then Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson wrote: “The Sunshine Coast is experiencing significant challenges in housing affordability and increased homelessness.”
“The Sunshine Coast Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2023 will help build on our existing commitments and provide support to our community. ‘
The action plan said the number of homeless people on the Sunshine Coast had increased by 54 per cent between 2016 and 2021.
The council says there are currently 1,205 homeless people on the Sunshine Coast.