I’m from Hungary and have been living in Sydney for the past six years. For the last four years, I’ve called Bronte my home. My main passion is ocean photography, so as you can imagine, I spend most of my free time in or near the ocean – mostly along the Bondi to Coogee walk. Bronte Beach and Tamarama Beach are my favourite spots, and I walk there every day. These two beaches are the heart of the coastal walk, which attracts thousands of locals and tourists alike. According to official data from Waverley Council, the walk brings in 8,000 visitors a day – almost 3 million people a year!
Since I started following Plastic Free Bronte, I’ve become increasingly aware of the alarming signs of plastic pollution everywhere. Before joining the group, I naively assumed that no one was still using plastic straws. But with this new perspective, I’ve noticed that during even short runs along the beach, I regularly see dozens of people carrying plastic cups, lids, and straws – items that all too often end up on the sand or in the water.
This made me reflect: why didn’t I notice this rubbish before? The answer is simple – like many of the millions who walk along the beach each year, my focus just wasn’t there. I was mesmerised by the beauty of nature, just like they are. I didn’t see it. Although thousands of ocean lovers work tirelessly to clean up the mess, it can feel like a never-ending battle – picking up bag after bag of rubbish every day. They clean, and yet the next day it’s as if nothing happened. It’s like trying to empty water from a sinking boat.
I often wonder why people don’t seem to care about the pollution. Are they bad people? Probably not. Maybe they’ve just grown immune to it and no longer see it. Like Neo in The Matrix, they’re living in a dream world – unaware of reality until someone wakes them up.
It would be amazing to help people wake up and see.
But I also realise that in today’s fast-paced world, it can be hard to pause and learn more about these issues. It’s not that people don’t care – often, it just isn’t front of mind until someone helps bring it into focus. In our Instagram- and Facebook-driven world, people are drawn to images. The human eye is attracted to colour and content more than to long articles or paragraphs.
So, I came up with the idea of using images as a way to capture attention. After taking hundreds of photos of rubbish along the Bondi to Bronte walk, we began designing posters with Plastic Free Bronte to help raise awareness.
With the support of local businesses and surf clubs, we’ve now placed several of these information boards along the coastal walk – right where thousands of people pass by each day. The posters highlight not only the visual impact of plastic waste but also share facts about plastic pollution, including the growing issue of microplastics harming marine life and entering our food chain.
A big thank you to the whole Plastic Free Bronte group for helping bring this idea to life – and to everyone who makes conscious decisions each day to protect our beaches and oceans. Your efforts truly make a difference.
