Like many places around the globe, Norfolk Island has its issues with getting rid of waste. Even so, Norfolk Island is one of the cleanest places I’ve seen (think Indonesia, Fiji, even the Gold Coast and Noosa). But residents know that we definitely can’t be complacent. The problem of rubbish disposal is an on-going one and one that is being given serious consideration by our local government. Finding the right solution is not always straightforward, easy or cheap.

In April, I took part in a clean-up of our beaches; it wasn’t perfect by any means. We picked up plenty of our own rubbish and some that had obviously drifted in on the wind and currents from elsewhere in the Pacific.

Rubbish is a huge community responsibility – it is taken seriously by residents.

Throughout the year, many locals pick up stray rubbish on their walks and swims. We have some great retail outlets here that promote a zero-plastic ethos (Prinke Eco Store in Burnt Pine is the flag-bearer on this one) and many shops don’t provide plastic bags. Some food retailers encourage customers to bring their own take-away containers. In addition, we have a dedicated group of local volunteers who stitch hundreds of boomerang bags every year for visitors and locals to use.

So, back in February 2021, it was gut-wrenching to see a couple of sand mullet, Myxus elongatus, wearing plastic collars – those rings found on plastic juice and milk bottles. Sometimes these rings escape into the wild, and this is the sad consequence. Mullet snuffle through the sand looking for food making it so easy for a ring or hair tie to flip over their noses and get stuck.

It is such a quick job to prise the collar off the bottle and snip it before putting it in your waste.

Yesterday, I saw another mullet with a ring collar, but this one looked a shiny metallic gold, with a lot less algal growth compared to the plastic ones (see righthand image). I recalled that someone had posted on our local community social media pages about a large man’s wedding ring that had gone missing in the bay earlier this year, so I decided to see if I could find the possible owner. It didn’t take long for my suspicion to be confirmed; we now have a poor mullet weighed down with someone’s (expensive) gold wedding ring.

Injecting some levity into the situation, one local wag hilariously commented, ‘Precious … maybe Peter Jackson can come over and make wun movie … LORD OF THE MULLET!’ You have to laugh!

Always trying to find the positives of any given situation, I see this as an incentive to encourage someone to relieve the poor fish of its handicap. If the ring had been boring plastic that incentive wouldn’t exist. I also see this as a great opportunity to raise awareness about this issue.

But it isn’t just about the immediate horror of seeing a fish being slowly strangled by our refuse. Earlier this week I found five golf balls in Emily Bay, all in the same vicinity, obviously deliberately driven into the bay. The following day I found another two.

A golf ball is a serious environmental hazard. As it breaks down, the core of rubber innards unravels. All 275 metres of it. This long elastic band floats, wrapping around seaweed and corals, while the outer core disintegrates into small micro-shards of plastic that are ingested by fish and plankton. Eventually, you will be eating this plastic.

And that is before you start talking about the chemicals used in the balls: zinc oxide, zinc acrylate and benzoyl peroxide are all added to the mix when the balls are manufactured. When these leach into the marine environment, and they will, they are seriously toxic to marine life.

So while seven golf balls in Emily Bay can easily be dismissed as being a minor infringement, I bet there are a whole lot more off the other coastal fringes of Norfolk Island’s golf course. I appreciate that many of these go in accidentally, but the ones in Emily Bay had to have been hit in there for ‘fun’. Why someone would do that is another question altogether, and one I can’t answer.

Like many communities, residents of Norfolk Island are doing their best, which is, I think, a lot better than most. However, we all need to remain extra vigilant. And be aware of the consequences of our actions.

Snip those plastic rings, try to keep hair ties in your hair and not let them float away, and don’t drive golf balls into beautiful Emily. She doesn’t need them.

As for the poor mullet with the gold collar. Here’s hoping we can deliver a happy ending to his story and for the owner of the wedding ring! The mullet has a life to live and it’s only fair he gets to live it.