Eltham Primary School junior reporter: Classroom cleans up the sea

Eltham Primary School pupils visited Ngamotu beach to clean up. Photo/ Supplied

Eltham Primary School pupils visited Ngamotu Beach to clean up the sea.

While the pupils were at the beach, they received eco marine lessons and learned about the effects of rubbish on marine life and the importance of recycling.

The rubbish found in the ocean harms the sea life when plastic gets caught around birds' beaks and feet.

It can also be dangerous to sea creatures who mistake micro pieces of plastic for planktons. When we eat the fish we are eating plastic too.

While cleaning at Ngamotu Beach, the pupils were surprised to see heaps of rubbish lying around on the beach and in the rocks as there had been a clean-up at the beach a couple of days before.

The pupils found a range of rubbish including hard and soft plastic, glass, cardboard and small bits of black plastic that comes off the boats and harbour when the boats dock.

Most of the hard plastic was found on the beach.

On average hard plastic would take up to 450 years to decompose, whereas soft plastic only takes 20 years. Cardboard on average takes three months to decompose and glass takes up to 4000 to a million years to decompose.