What do you get when 30 community volunteers spend a Sunday morning exploring mangroves, saltmarshes, parks and carparks? A cleaner coastline - and 160kg of rubbish removed from the environment.

The clean-up, organised by North Queensland Conservation Council, NQ Wildlife Care and Healthy Waters Partnership, brought together community members determined to make a difference around the Barnicle Street boat ramp.

Volunteers collected an astonishing amount of litter, including tyres, a fridge door, broken glass, textiles, shoes and more than 18kg of soft plastics. While the clean-up area was relatively small, the volume of rubbish highlights the ongoing challenge facing our waterways and wildlife.

A big thank you to everyone who took part, and to TIDY Up Townsville Group and Earthwatch Australia for joining us on the day and lending a hand.

Every piece of litter removed is one less threat to wildlife and our waterways.

All photos: Jo Hurford.

Scroll through the photos below to see the day in action.