A golf promotion at Sydney Harbour has backfired spectacularly after plastic golf balls used in the attraction were found floating around the surrounding waterways.<\/p>\n
The Harbour Shot, a temporary golf challenge set up in Cockle Bay near Darling Harbour, invites players to hit floating golf balls towards a target for the chance to win $5,000.<\/p>\n
But the activation has drawn criticism from Seabin, an organisation that removes plastic pollution from Sydney Harbour, after its collection devices recovered golf balls near the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sea Life Aquarium and Jones Bay Wharf.<\/p>\n
Seabin chief executive and co-founder Pete Ceglinski said the discovery was particularly frustrating for a team working every day to remove rubbish from the harbour.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought \u2018not very cool, hitting plastic balls into Sydney Harbour\u2019,\u201d Mr Ceglinski told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just not a very well thought out marketing stunt that has the potential to harm the environment and animals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Ceglinski said Seabin first noticed floating barriers being installed in Cockle Bay about a week ago, before promotional material for The Harbour Shot appeared.<\/p>\n
Several days later, members of his team shared images of yellow golf balls recovered by Seabin devices around the harbour.<\/p>\n
The organisation responded with an Instagram video criticising the promotion, which attracted about 150,000 views, according to Mr Ceglinski.<\/p>\n
In a follow-up video posted on Saturday, Seabin staff filmed themselves pretending to hit plastic into the harbour, highlighting the potential consequences of the promotion.<\/p>\n
The posts prompted a wave of online criticism, with commenters questioning why the activity had been allowed to go ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlay golf somewhere else please,\u201d one person wrote.<\/p>\n
Another said the activity could be acceptable if organisers were held accountable for keeping the balls contained and cleaning them up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was wondering where they were coming from. Found 10 so far in Lavender Bay,\u201d another commenter said.<\/p>\n
Mr Ceglinski said other people had reported finding balls around Circular Quay, raising questions about how many had escaped the designated playing area.<\/p>\n
He said he hoped organisers would keep a record of how many balls were used and recovered to establish how many may have entered the wider environment.<\/p>\n
The plastic balls could pose choking hazards to marine animals and eventually break down into microplastics, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a boat drives over them and the propeller hits it,\u201d the balls could also break apart, adding to the pollution.<\/p>\n
Mr Ceglinski said microplastics already accounted for more than 55 per cent of plastic pollution floating in Sydney Harbour.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite frustrating,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Seabin team are collecting plastic pollution every single day in Sydney Harbour and then you have a company coming along thinking it\u2019s a great marketing idea to hit plastic into the water as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Harbour Shot has defended its environmental measures, saying it uses floating balls, a floating perimeter boom, a remote-controlled water drone, nets, a kayak and a boat to collect them.<\/p>\n
In a statement, a spokesperson said the activation had received a strong response and organisers had put measures in place to limit the range of shots and prevent balls drifting into open waterways.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have stringent processes in place to collect the floating plastic balls and have managed to clean up over 20kg of rubbish from Cockle Bay over the last couple of weeks,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
The attraction\u2019s website said its crew collected and reused the balls throughout the day, rinsing and checking them before returning them to play. Damaged balls were removed from use.<\/p>\n
Organisers also said they collected other floating rubbish, weighing it daily, and had removed 17.27kg of plastic over 18 days on the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe appreciate all the work Seabins has done to keep the ocean clean and share their concern,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve reached out to Seabins to discuss and would love the opportunity to work closely together to ensure we remove even more rubbish from the ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Harbour Shot is scheduled to operate in Cockle Bay from October 9 to November 6.<\/p>\n
Mr Ceglinski said he wanted the organisers to reconsider running the promotion in future and ensure a more diligent clean-up in the meantime.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they really wanted to help, they could support Seabin with our clean-up as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re only adding to our jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seabin has also recently launched a data platform that records the waste collected by its devices, including plastic pollution, microplastics and golf balls.<\/p>\n
Mr Ceglinski said golf balls had now been added as a separate category.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully we don\u2019t see any more.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for placemaking NSW, which manage Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay, said they \u201crecognise the importance of protecting the bay\u2019s environment and work closely with stakeholders to balance environmental preservation while creating vibrant experiences for locals and visitors\u201d. <\/p>\n