The men have formed the volunteer group Coastal Warriors Mid North Coast to address the issue of waste in the region. Members are planning to meet once a month either at a beach or park to collect rubbish. 

The men were spurred into action after they attended the Clean Up Australia Day event at Town Beach in March. 

After two hours Mr Lockley said they collected about five bags of rubbish. 

“While the beach may look relatively clean, you just need to scratch the surface of the sand to discover all the litter which lies beneath the surface,” he said. 

The rubbish items included cigarette butts, plastic lollipop sticks, lolly wrappers and take away meal packaging. 

Mr Lockley said cigarette butts can swell when they get washed into the ocean. 

“They end up looking like a small prawn and then marine animals eat them,” he said. 

Mr Lockley said there are a lot of people who have become blasé about the amount of litter around them. 

“We live in a fast paced world where majority of people choose to do what’s easy,” he said. 

Mr Lockley said people might not realise a lot of cups used for takeaway coffee are not recyclable. 

“While they are cardboard the inside is lined with plastic so they end up in landfill,” he said. 

Mr Lockley purchased a reusable cup to consume his coffee each day. 

He said it would be fantastic if cafes offered an incentive to people for using a recyclable cup to drink their coffee.

The group are looking forward to working with the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council and other community groups to tackle the pollution issue. 

The Coastal Warriors Mid North Coast will hold a beach clean up and registration day on July 1 from 9am until 12pm. People are encouraged to bring gloves along to the event at the southern end of Town Beach. 

For more information visit the group’s Facebook page at Coastal Warriors Mid North Coast