Trade Trash for Treasure: Take 3’s Seaside Scavenge is Coming to Mosman

Trade Trash for Treasure: Take 3’s Seaside Scavenge is Coming to Mosman 

There’s a moment on every beach clean up usually somewhere around the twentieth bottle cap or cigarette butt when you stop seeing rubbish and start seeing a problem you can actually help solve. That’s the moment we’re chasing on Sunday 20 September, when Take 3 for the Sea brings our Seaside Scavenge to Balmoral Beach as part of the Mosman Sustainability Fair. 

Why we scavenge 

Take 3’s message has always been simple: take 3 pieces of rubbish with you when you leave any place — beach, park, or waterway and you’re part of the solution. It sounds small. It isn’t. Every piece of plastic pulled off a beach is a piece that never reaches the ocean, never breaks down into microplastics, and never ends up in a fish, a bird, or eventually, us. 

Balmoral Beach is one of Sydney’s most-loved stretches of coastline, the kind of place families have been visiting for generations. It deserves better than the cigarette butts, bottle tops, and food wrappers that wash up after every high tide and busy weekend. On the 20th, we’re inviting our community to help us give it that. 

How the Scavenge works 

Here’s the fun part: this isn’t just a clean up, it’s a trade. For every 10 pieces of litter you collect and sort, you’ll earn a trash token and every token can be spent at Mosman Councils pop-up market stall stocked with pre-loved books, toys, and other treasures. Trash in, treasure out. It’s a small mechanic that makes a big difference to how a clean-up ‘feels’, less chore, more scavenger hunt. 

We’re proud to have Big Butt Hunt on board as an event partner for the day, bringing their expertise (and enthusiasm) for tackling one of the beach’s most persistent offenders: the humble cigarette butt.

More than a clean up 

 The Scavenge is just one part of a full day at the Mosman Sustainability Fair. Once your bag’s full (or your token pouch is), stick around for: 

• Live music from a local musician 
• Talks from Mosman’s environmental leaders and local eco-change-makers 
• Bike n’ Blend: pedal-powered smoothies, no shortcuts 
• Feature Creatures: up-close encounters with local wildlife 
• Wonder of Water Van: a hands-on look at where our water comes from and where it goes 
• A display of electric vehicles 
• Practical, no-jargon advice from experts on cutting draughts (and energy bills) at home 
• A chance to meet the local organisations and community groups working toward a more sustainable Mosman 

It’s a day built for anyone who wants to do something real for the ocean without needing to be an expert, own any gear, or clear their whole weekend. 

The details 

What: Take 3’s Seaside Scavenge, part of the Mosman Sustainability Fair 

When: Sunday 20 September, 10am – 2pm 

Where: Balmoral Beach, Mosman NSW 

Cost: Free 

What to bring: Enclosed shoes and comfortable clothing (clean-ups get hands-on), a hat and sunscreen, and your reusable drink bottle. Let’s keep the day itself plastic-free where we can. 

Every piece counts 

By 2030, Take 3 is working to remove and record 9 million pieces of rubbish from our coastlines. Every bag collected at Balmoral on the 20th gets logged and counted toward that goal, which means every person who shows up is directly moving the dial, one bottle cap or cigarette butt at a time. 

 Bring your friends, bring your family, bring your curiosity. Balmoral Beach and everything that swims past it will thank you. 

Registration is free and takes two minutes. [Sign up here] and we’ll see you on the sand.