“Splash without the Trash” was dreamt up on a hot summers day, while out paddle boarding in Sydney harbour.

Most Sydney beaches are cleaned on a regular basis, so you don’t realise how bad plastic pollution is. Out on a SUP, floating past discarded plastic packaging and secluded harbour beaches covered in trash, it’s clear that these provide a more realistic indicator of the magnitude of the problem we are facing. Raising awareness of this in the local community, through conducting regular ocean & beach cleans in more remote areas of the harbour, seemed like a good idea.

One of our founders, Charlotte, spoke to the owner of Rose Bay Aquatic Hire. He was well aware of the issue of litter in the water, and keen to support an initiative to tackle this. She gathered four of her equally passionate friends, and the “Splash without the Trash” crew was born. With different skills and backgrounds, but a common love for the ocean, and the ambition and drive to make a difference, the team was perfectly placed to organise their first Ocean & Beach clean in March 2019.

From there, Splash without the Trash has grown. We established as a small not for profit in June 2019 that uses Ocean & Beach cleans to raise awareness and educate volunteers about marine trash. We added a group brunch and “trashy trivia” to our agenda – believing that education is the key to change. A higher level of visibility and information about plastic pollution provides participants with the motivation and power to make a difference.

We want Sydney-siders to be able to Splash in an Ocean without Trash. If you feel the same way, then come and join us!