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See the wild collection of items pulled from a popular Melbourne watering hole with the cleanup exposing the locals’ apparent penchant for ditching a particular drug.
- Residents Fed Up With Litter In Their Local Wetlands Decided To Clean Up
- Trio cleaned up the Heathdale Glen Orden wetlands in Werribee last month
- They found a scooter and canisters of nitrous oxide in the middle of the garbage
- Other items included shopping carts, fishing paraphernalia, a stroller, and a tire.
A family fed up with the state of their local wetlands has jumped into the water to try and clean it up, only to find out more than they bargained for when they uncover a massive cache of used nangs.
Paul Rushworth, his daughter Jane Rushworth and their partner Dylan Forbes waded through the waters at Heathdale Glen Orden’s 35-hectare wetlands in Werribee, south-west Melbourne, last month.
The trio pulled out “heaps of junk”, using a 22.5kg salvage magnet, which included a mangy scooter, a stroller, three bicycles and other smaller scooters.
Locals Paul Rushworth (pictured), Jane Rushworth and Dylan Forbes waded through the waters at Heathdale Glen Orden’s 35-hectare wetlands in Werribee, south-west Melbourne, last month, scooping up “heaps of rubbish”.
The group also discovered a large number of small canisters of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, colloquially called nangs, which are typically used in whipped cream dispensers but have become a popular inhalant for people looking to get high.
It is an offense in Victoria to supply or sell nitrous oxide if it is suspected of being inhaled for non-medical purposes.
Forbes told Daily Mail Australia that the removal of the nangs in the waters was “pretty disgusting”.
‘[There were] 100 probably, I think we still had parts of the box that it came in, it was probably only in there a day or two,’ Forbes said.
“The scooters and bike are still working pretty well and we’re giving them away to a few people Jane and I know.”
Mr Rushworth even jumped into the murky water after the magnet got stuck while they were retrieving the heavy scooter from the wetlands (pictured)
A vision of Mr Rushworth riding a ‘very nice bike’ that the group had dug out of the mud along a path was also posted on social media.
The keen environmentalist even jumped into the murky water after the magnet got stuck while they were retrieving the heavy scooter from the wetlands.
“Some junk (a particular motorcycle) was too heavy for the magnet, so I went in,” the father said on social media.
“It saddens me that some people care so little about their environment, but it was nice to give something back to those in the community who appreciate the wetland.”
Mr Rushworth said the ‘Co2 canisters’ were used for ‘kind of 20 second high, apparently they call them Nangs’ (pictured, nitrous oxide canisters being used as illicit recreational drugs
The group discovered a large number of small canisters of nitrous oxide, which are manufactured for pain and sedation for hospital use, but are also used illicitly to get a quick high.
The sight of Mr Rushworth riding a ‘very cool bike’ that the group had dug out of the mud along a path was also posted on social media.
The rescuers live a short distance from the wetlands and did the cleanup out of concerns about their local environment.
Other items recovered included two shopping carts, a tire, fishing paraphernalia, and a listless eel that Rushworth tried to save before returning it to the water.
They took the pile of trash to a dumpster in the park area in the hope that the Wyndham City Council would take it away.
Last week only the scooter and shopping carts were left in place.
“It saddens me that some people care so little about their environment, but it was nice to give something back to those in the community who appreciate the wetland,” said Rushworth (scooter pictured).
The group took the pile of clutter (pictured with Mr. Rushworth) to a dumpster in the park in hopes that the Wyndham City Council would haul it away.