Randwick City Council's Beaches Have Been Closed Until Further Notice Because of Plastic Debris
Face masks and plastic containers have covered Sydney's eastern beaches after 40 containers fell off a ship over the weekend.
Just one month ago, Randwick City Council reopened its beaches as the state's COVID–19 restrictions began to ease. Today, Wednesday, May 27, the council has been forced to close them once again — but this time it's because of plastic debris.
The Council announced in a Facebook video earlier today that council crews were working to clean up the flotsam and that "beaches will remain closed until further notice". "People are strongly encouraged not to enter the water due to the risk of larger submerged items still in the surf," a Council spokesperson said in the post.
It's possible the beaches, which include Clovelly, Coogee and Maroubra, will remained closed for the rest of the week, too, with the Council saying it's expecting more material to wash up "over the coming days".
While the Council didn't specify the type of debris, The Guardian reported that face masks and plastic containers were among the items washing up on shores after 40 shipping containers fell of the APL England, which was on en route from China to Melbourne, on the weekend.
As well as Randwick's beaches, the ABC is reporting that the ship's debris has also washed ashore at Bondi and several beaches along the Central Coast.
While no other beaches are closed due to debris at the moment, we'll let you know if this changes.
Randwick City Council's beaches will remain closed until further notice. For updates, keep an eye on the Council's Facebook page.
Top image: Randwick City Council
