Abell Point Marina continues plastic purge with new environmental initiatives

Abell Point Marina has revealed it is continuing on its path towards cleaner living with a number of new environmental initiatives – among which is the signing of a Marina Industries Association pledge to fully eliminate single-use plastics from within the marina.

The Australian marina has already committed itself towards being plastic-bag free, providing all marina guests with their own environmentally friendly reusable shopping bag at check-in. Similarly, all dining and food outlets, plus several tourism operators within the marina, signed The Last Straw campaign pledge in July 2018 – through which Abell Point proudly became the first marina in the country where every food and beverage outlet was committed to prohibiting plastic straws.

The future also holds some exciting new environmental initiatives for the marina, following the sponsoring of local volunteer group Eco Barge Clean Seas, through the Containers for Change scheme. The vision is to assist with funding this committed not-for-profit organization by giving them access to the marina’s collected recycled materials, from which they can generate funds to continue the wonderful work it does in terms of keeping the seas clean through marine debris removal, recycling of plastics and its Turtle Rescue Centre.

Elsewhere, as first-time sponsors of the annual Great Barrier Reef Festival, Abell Point Marina will host a series of marine debris workshops, named Trash to Treasure, led by acclaimed artist, David Day. The vision for the workshops is to engage the community by offering them the opportunity to upcycle marine debris into pieces of art, which will then be displayed throughout the four-day festival in August.

Abell Point Marina is consistently working towards reducing its environmental footprint in a bid to protect and preserve the incredible marine environment of the Whitsunday Islands and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Staying true to its environmental policy, as well as the spirit of the Whitsundays, the marina is keen to promote bigger adventures, yet with much smaller ‘footprints’. The new pledge with the Marina Industries Association is acknowledgement of the need to proactively address the damaging reality of single-use plastic and publicly show the genuine commitment the marina has towards initially reducing unnecessary waste, and ultimately eliminating it, throughout the marina by 2025.

For more information, visit Abell Point Marina. Sign up to our newsletter to get the best of Yachting Pages delivered direct to your inbox every month.