Each summer we flock to the beach to bask in all its glory, the fresh salty water a welcome relief from the heat. But with all the half-naked bodies flailing between the flags, it’s easy to forget that we share the ocean with some more adept swimmers. Tim Silverwood, environmentalist and founder of Take 3, has embarked on a new adventure – the 28-day Talking Trash tour – to remind us that we’re sharing the ocean with a vast amount of suffering marine life. “85% of Australians live within 50km of the coast, our rich culture revolves around our love and value for the ocean and our waterways. Yet, in every square kilometre of Australia’s fringing ocean is over 4000 pieces of plastic rubbish,” Silverwood says. “Most of this rubbish comes from land and a lot of it is from single use items that were used once before becoming trash.”

Tim has partnered with Ocean Ambassador’s Adrian Milwood as part of this month’s tour. Sailing on a 38ft sustainable catamaran, the pair are stopping off at 12 east coast locations – including Brisbane, Yamba, Newcastle and Sydney – to introduce simple ways that we can reduce our trash. With a smorgasbord of events such as film nights, workshops and an exciting demonstration of the new Japanese bio-technology that converts plastic waste to fuel, there will be lots of food for thought. For more information on when the Talking Trash tour will be coming to you, check out www.take3.org.au. In the mean time, you can start the revolution quite simply by taking 3 pieces of rubbish away from the beach each time you visit. It’s all about sharing and caring so we can keep enjoying that wonderful big body of water!