More than 1,300 face masks and hundreds of plastic meat trays have washed ashore on the New South Wales South Coast.
The debris, thought to have come from shipping containers that fell off the APL England in March, was collected by Jervis Bay couple Dani and Tom Jacobsen.
Along with the masks and the 300 or so meat trays, the Jacobsens said they had collected about 115 kilograms' worth of other detritus they believed came from the same containers.
NSW Maritime had issued a warning to mariners over concerns one of the containers could wash up in Jervis Bay due to large swells in July.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) confirmed its last sighting of the container was on July 13, 26 nautical miles east of Gerringong, north of Jervis Bay.
Face masks were also spotted at the site.
'We're becoming hoarders'
The Jacobsons, who have been collecting rubbish from around the Jervis Bay area for 18 months, keep records of what they find.
To date, they have collected 470 kilograms of debris so far.
"We are getting better at finding it after storms and where it is likely to wash in based on the wind direction," Mr Jacobson said.
"We document it so we can work out the trends as to where it will be.
"The better we get at it, the more rubbish we find."
Once they find it, they keep it in their front yard and sort it into recyclables and rubbish.
"We're becoming marine hoarders," Mrs Jacobson said.
"We generally spend most of our winters cleaning beaches."
Creating a clean-up culture
The pair started an Instagram account to document efforts, as well as a clean-up group in the Jervis Bay area to help inspire the community to keep its beaches – often marketed as "pristine" – clean.
"We all have common interests — we care about our ocean and the environment," Mrs Jacobson said.
"It's a blessing for us to get out, meet others and walk along the beaches collecting rubbish.
"People are definitely starting to get that awareness and look out for it.
"I would like to be able to go to a beach and not find any rubbish — that would be the end goal."
AMSA is still working to try and retrieve the lost shipping containers and associated rubbish.
