3 Amazingly easy ways you can help keep the Coast green

From those who explore our region of New South Wales, to those who call the Central Coast home, we're all shaped and inspired by its natural beauty. This extends from our stunning slice of eastern coastline and network of inland waterways, to the produce-rich hinterland and rolling mountains to the west.

If you've explored the great outdoors here - you know what we're talking about! The Central Coast's green side captivates every newcomer and truly captures what is great about our destination. This is why we are committed to fiercely protecting it.

We invite you to get involved in any of these three amazing everyday ways to keep the Central Coast region clean and green. And when doing so - shout about it! Tag us on our Instagram or Facebook socials with #LoveCentralCoast so we can share the love for the land we live on.

From humble beginnings in the heart of Long Jetty, Take 3 for the Sea is now leading a global movement that reduces plastic pollution and waste in the environment. Their message is simple: Take three pieces of rubbish with you when you leave the beach, waterway or…anywhere and you have made a difference.

In 2009, two friends set about answering the question 'How can we stop plastic pollution from killing wildlife and suffocating our planet?' Now, Take 3 is participating in 129 countries, has educated more than 500,000 people through their programs and is removing 10 million pieces of rubbish annually.

Take 3 inspires participation with simple, everyday actions. The best thing is you can get involved straight away whenever you're out enjoying the Central Coast! From CEO to school kids, seaside tourist to tour guide - there's a way for every walk of life to support this amazing movement - get involved.

From Patonga to Soldiers, Shelly to Putty. Whether you love snorkelling, swimming, surfing or diving, Central Coast beaches are all local treasures. Local innovators Roberta Dixon-Valk, Amanda Marechal and Sarah Beard have shared their Take 3 success story alongside their favourite places to experience on the Central Coast. 

What role has the Central Coast played in the organisation’s success? What are their favourite local beaches? Where would they take a nature-loving friend who hasn’t visited the region before? Read their Local Guide.

The Central Coast is a destination with sustainability front of mind, so we've partnered with Australian Swap-and-Go coffee cup system, Green Caffeen. This means both locals and visitors can tap into this national network of recyclable cups, kind of like a library borrowing system for coffee lovers! 

Since July 2021, we've seen the exciting emergence of a Central Coast ‘green café crawl’ with more than 25 Central Coast businesses actively joining Green Caffeen’s café list. This includes popular seaside coffee spots Avoca Sands Cafe at Avoca Beach, Sonoma Bakery at Terrigal, Two Birds Gallery Cafe in Toowoon Bay, Duck Duck Moose in Wyong, Gnositc Mana Cafe at Woy Woy and Smoke on the Water at Ettalong.

To date, more than 14,500 cups checked out across the region. Overall, this partnership with Green Caffeen has the potential to remove over 960,000 single-use disposable coffee cups from our streets, beaches and bush – ultimately taking pressure off the planet by removing 14,400kgs of plastics from landfill in the next year alone!

Once you’ve got your hands on a Love Central Coast cup, take it with you as a souvenir from the Central Coast on your travels across Australia. You're free to swap it for a fresh one at more than 700 participating Green Caffeen cafés across the country. See the Green Coastal Cafe Crawl list here.

Ever heard the saying, think globally, act locally? One brilliant example of this is right here on the Central Coast, where we are leading the way to help shape the future of soft plastics recycling in Australia - with a cute little Bilby named Curby at the helm!

With Central Coast Council signing up as the first Local Government Area in Australia to trial an at-home soft plastics recycling system with Curby, the program is setting a new standard for the role local government organisations play in plastic recycling nationally. Over 10,000 households have already signed up to the Curby program, resulting in more than 20,000 kilograms of soft plastics being diverted from landfill.

If you live on the Central Coast, or rent or manage a holiday home out to visitors, you can sign up to the program and encourage your family and guests to feed Curby the Bilby with soft plastics as one small but valuable step to keeping our environment clean. Find out more and sign up today.