TWO Redland Bay children are crusading against litter, one Slurpee cup at a time.
Jetsun Mackley, 8, and sister Sangye, 6, have written a letter to Redland City Council expressing their concern about the numbers of Slurpee cups and straws they have found in stormwater drains since a 7-Eleven store opened in Redland Bay.
Jetsun said his family had seen a significant increase in litter around the area after the store on Boundary Street opened in late 2017.
He said he was worried about the environmental impact the litter might have.
"I don't like litter just all on the ground because it could hurt lots of animals," he said.
"Turtles could get straws stuck in their nose and birds could accidentally eat a straw.
"Fish and sharks could be eating them too."
A 7-Eleven spokesperson said the company had partnered with cup recycling program Simply Cups in 2018 in a bid to rescue takeaway cups from rubbish and landfill.
"The partnership includes dedicated 7-Eleven Simply Cups collection bins for takeaway coffee and Slurpee cups and lids installed in over 200 7-Eleven stores nationally and 50 other large-scale locations," the spokesperson said.
"Our stores also sell... reusable coffee cups made from recycled coffee cups and (reusable) Slurpee bottles."
The spokesperson said 7-Eleven customers were encouraged to recycle their coffee and Slurpee cups, lids and straws at dedicated 7-Eleven recycling points.
While the Victoria Point 7-Eleven store has a cup recycling point, the Redland Bay store does not.
7-Eleven, Redland City Council and the community should be working together to prevent littering, Jetsun said.
"I'd like maybe some posters around the place that say to put Slurpee cups in the bin," he said.
"I'd like council to tell 7-Eleven to have recyclable cups and if there's any litter I'd like them to put in some bins."
After picking up a bag full of Slurpee cups on Clean Up Australia Day, Jetsun and Sangye wrote a letter asking council to address the issue.
A council spokesperson said residents were encouraged to dispose of their litter responsibly and recycle appropriate materials where possible.
The spokesperson said corporations needed to be held accountable for ensuring the materials they used and products they sold were not causing environmental harm.
Jetsun said he hoped his and Sangye's fight against littering of Slurpee cups would help people to see the damage their actions could cause.
"I think people should know that they should stop littering (because) a million animals are going to be hurt, nearly every animal that lives in Australia," he said.