‘Corporate rubbish’ littering Bondi Beach

Large corporations and entertainment/promotional companies are littering Bondi Beach with advertising materials and threatening wildlife, according to a prominent local community group.

The Responsible Runners – a volunteer organisation which combines outdoor exercise with cleaning up Australia’s most iconic beach – says organisations such as Vodafone, Citibank and Sollarium Entertainment are using Bondi as an outdoor advertising venue.

Responsible Runners founding member Justin Bonsey says items such as giant inflatable sunglasses, li-los, plastic beach balls, brochures and pamphlets are being handed out each weekend to beachgoers, who often leave the items on the beach when they go home.

“We’re seeing a trend where these companies are treating the sand as a giant outdoor advertising space, handing out items that aren’t biodegradable, which litter the beach and get swept out to sea,” said Mr Bonsey.

“Unfortunately these companies are taking advantage of Bondi’s popularity and targeting crowds, who they see as a captive audience, with all manner of materials which get left on the sand and become a threat to birds and marine life,” he said.

Mr Bonsey said the Responsible Runners group – which meets 6pm Sundays outside the Bondi Pavillion for a weekly clean-up – collects dozens of promotional items each week.

He said the companies concerned showed scant regard for the environment and had so far failed to respond to the group’s requests to cease and desist the littering.

“We’ve left a number of message on the companies’ Facebook page, but so far they’ve failed to reply,” he said.

Mr Bonsey called on the Waverley Municipal Council to be pro-active in protecting the beach from “corporate vandalism”.

“Our understanding is this practice is illegal without approval from Council, so we are calling on Council to exercise good judgment when approving these promotions, and to prosecute those companies responsible for distributing promotional materials on the beach without approval,” he said.

“Bondi Beach would definitely benefit from more rangers patrolling the sand on weekends, and Council taking more interest in this issue,” he added.

A spokesperson for Waverley Council said Council was looking into the issue and would respond comprehensively in the coming days.

Citibank and Vodafone did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokesperson for event and activity organiser Sollarium Entertainment said: “Sollarium aims to conduct its promotions in an ethical way. We’re not about offending the local community or damaging the environment. We’re happy to liase [with Responsible Runners] and look into using more biodegradable materials in our promotions.”