MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has postponed any decision on the future of a controversial hand beach cleaning trial at all Port Phillip beaches due to “further work” being needed.
The matter was set to be considered by councillors at their 28 January meeting after deputy mayor Cr Paul Pingiaro moved an urgent business motion last December calling for the hand cleaning trial to end “with immediate effect” and to reinstate a mechanical rake method. But a report prepared by council officers was withdrawn just hours before the meeting was to be held. It will instead be presented to councillors no later than 11 March after mayor Cr Anthony Marsh noted that “further work” was required by council officers before any conclusions were to be made.
The shire is currently undertaking a 12-month trial that involves cleaning all Port Phillip beaches solely by hand on a fortnightly basis instead of a mechanical rake, which was reportedly found to have only removed about 40 per cent of litter, according to the shire. While mechanical raking creates an aesthetically pleasing groomed look, it has become contentious due to being known to leave behind broken bottles, shredded plastic and even hypodermic needles.
The withdrawn report was published online in the meeting’s agenda, which, had it been considered, recommended that council receive a “workshop style” briefing in February to “discuss options for recommendation towards the future service delivery model”. The report noted that if the hand beach cleaning was to be ended immediately, a minimum of 90 days was needed between hand beach cleaning and transitioning to an alternate methodology, which is “required as per the terms of the contract”. “Ending the hand beach cleaning trial immediately would result in beaches not being cleaned after the 90 days period until an alternate arrangement can be implemented,” it said.
“There is no immediate reduction in cost for the service as council are required to continue to pay the contracted costs until a contract variation is agreed. Therefore, it is recommended that during the 90-day period, officers present alternative methods for discussion with councillors in a workshop style briefing.”
The cancelled report had also recommended that the shire continued the existing beach cleaning methods until a council decision is made for the implementation of a future service delivery model.
It is not known whether these recommendations would be made in future, only that it was published in the withdrawn report.
Speaking at the December meeting Pingiaro expressed a firm stance on ceasing the hand cleaning trail on all beaches because it failed to meet the “community’s expectations”, with reports of litter and seaweed having increased (Tide turns for beach cleaning, The News 14/1/25). “This dissatisfaction, coupled with increasing complaints, indicates that the trial is failing to meet the community’s expectations for a clean, safe, and enjoyable beaches,” he said.
But proponents such as award-winning beach cleaning campaigner Josie Jones OAM, who had initially pushed the shire for a hand cleaning trial, said, it was an “incredible opportunity” for “low impact solutions for our coastlines”.
Before 1 July last year, the beaches were cleaned by a combination of mechanical and hand cleaning with areas where a mechanical rake could not access cleaned by hand.
First published in the Mornington News – 4 February 2025
