Words by Jodie Powell
Environmental action group Pristine Peninsula has added its voice to the chorus of people against plans to build two new fast-food outlets at Kippa-Ring.
Founder and co-ordinator Les Barkla made an impassioned plea at this morning’s Moreton Bay Regional Council meeting, saying Pristine Peninsula members were concerned about the impact on the environment, health issues and road safety.
Les told the meeting the 100-day Love Clontarf campaign by Pristine Peninsula last year that aimed to reduce litter collected 2.8 tonnes of rubbish.
“Our main focus was on a particular section of Snook St between King St and Macdonnell Rd,” Les said.
“On that particular site, if you focus on the plastics and paper and cardboard, we collected nearly 3900 litter items that are potentially fast-food items coming from the McDonald’s or other fast-food outlets close by.
“Typically, fast food items are consumed and thrown away within 2km of the fast-food outlet - we found it was thrown away within 1.6km of the site.”
Harming wildlife
Les said uncollected litter found its way into waterways like the nearby Hays Inlet Conservation Park, gradually disintegrating into microplastic and harming fish, birds and other wildlife.
“Eight pieces of microplastic are in every litre of water today,” he said.
“A local 2019 Moreton Bay study reported that 33 percent of local deceased turtles in Moreton Bay studied between 2006 and 2011 had ingested up to 329 pieces of debris.”
Les fears two new fast-food outlets planned for the current site of Beardy’s Bar and Kitchen will only compound the problem and urged Council to reject the development application.
“If you base it on the Snook St data, new outlets will increase litter by 15,000 items a year.”
Danger to students
Les said volunteer waste warriors involved in Love our Clontarf regularly saw students from nearby Clontarf State High School dodging traffic to get from the McDonald’s to school and were concerned a similar situation would arise with Kippa-Ring State School just a 350m walk away from the planned development.
“Fast-food outlets near schools create dangerous traffic issues and we have seen that at Clontarf on numerous occasions when we picked litter up in the area.
“It also encourages unhealthy eating habits.”
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