Months after wild weather pummelled South Australia’s coastline, a 100-metre-long discovery has been made on a remote beach. Aboriginal rangers who stumbled across the weighty item suspect it came from a container ship and was used to cover cargo.
The Far West Coast Rangers were wrapping up their last week cleaning up debris at remote Point Bell, in the west of the state, when they found the blue and orange tarpaulin.
Greg Cramond, the ranger manager at the Far West Coast Aboriginal Corporation, described it as “enormous”, noting the biggest piece of rubbish was unintentionally saved until last.
“Storms occurred in the area back in July, and we’ve been doing these marine debris cleanups on the coast,” he told Yahoo News.
How long did the tarpaulin take to remove?
The head ranger, Charles Coleman, said the tarpaulin was exceptionally heavy.
“The amazing thing about it was it was all folded up,” he told Yahoo.
The team worked in the heat, dragging the tarpaulin over steep dunes. Source: Far West Coast Rangers
Coleman was one of three people who spent an hour and a half in the heat, dragging it from the beach, over the steep dunes, and then onto a trailer.
Incredible photos show him and his team working together to remove it, so it no longer posed a danger to wildlife.
He’s worked as a ranger for around four years, and since the storms, he’s seen a lot more rubbish on the beach than ever before.
“We’ve picked up bottles, things that have come off the fishing boats – nets, ropes, line, everything,” he said.
Despite the work being exceptionally hard, there’s one key thing that motivates him to keep cleaning.
“It’s because of the fish, the sharks, whales, and turtles that get caught,” he said.
It was the largest piece of rubbish the team had encountered at the site. Source: Far West Coast Rangers
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