Environment and Sustainability

At Jetty Dive Centre we are very proud of the ocean planet that we get to spend our time exploring, and will do anything we can to help maintain it’s integrity. We do this through many of our environmental policies in day to day life, but we also like to give back with larger efforts.

As Mike & Deb took over ownership in 1996, and social media didn’t really start to become a communication method for business until at least 2010, and as we never did clean ups for the credit we unfortunately have limited documentation for our past efforts.

In an attempt to document these we have found some details, but endeavor to continue this list forward by continuing our conservation in future.

Advanced EcoTourism Certified with Ecotourism Australia

Jetty Dive Centre is Certified in Advanced Ecotourism with Ecotourism Australia. This means we have dedicated ourselves to stick to set guidelines to guarantee we are prioritising environmental sustainability within all aspects of our business. Check out more details in our Blog Post about our Ecotourism Australia Certification.

Green Fins

Jetty Dive Centre are proud digital members of Green Fins. Green Fins members commit to protect and conserve coral reefs by following environmental guidelines. These guidelines fit snugly with our Environmental Focus, and with our Advanced EcoTourism Certification with Ecotourism Australia. We love using Green Fins to continue to encourage improvement in our procedures, and connect with like-minded dive shops and individuals throughout the world to get ideas for improvements!

How have we helped?

Type of Effort	Date	People Involved	Activites completed	Amount of trash collected?
Clean Up Australia Clean Up Day	2008	Staff and Customers	Cleanup in Jetty Area	At least 10 bags of trash.
Clean Up Australia Clean Up Day	12/09/2012	Dive Customers and Staff	Not Recorded	Not recorded
Clean Up Australia Clean Up Day	21/09/2013	Dive Customers	Not Recorded	Not recorded
Clean Up Australia Clean Up Day	6/03/2016	Dive Customers	Not Recorded	Not recorded
Staff Clean Up	3/06/2016	Lindsay, (Past Staff) Andrew and Bryce	Small cleanup effort underneath Coffs Harbour Jetty. Collected trash and removed	About 2kg.
Seaside Scavenge	13/08/2017	Dive Customers and Staff	Provided free air fills/tank hire for all that participated, had staff participate in cleanup efforts	5 Dive Tubs of Rubbish
Marine Cleanup	7/07/2019	SURG (Solitary Islands Research Group)	Not Recorded	Not Recorded

June 2016

Clean Up 2008

This list is by no means exhasutive, and we are always adding to it and improving our procedures!

What we do to reduce waste

Reduce

We have implemented online indemnity forms, this eliminates hundreds of pieces of paper being used per year. This online form was implemented mid-year 2021, so we do not have a full year of statistics to demonstrate paper saved. But in 2021 we had over 2000 divers join us, so paper savings will likely be around 2,000 sheets not printed per year.
We reduce paper waste by creating reusable manifest “slate” for logging dive in/out times and details, and roll-calling. This slate saves 1-2 pieces of paper per diving day, saving us hundreds of pieces of paper per year.
We no longer send printed invoices in our online orders.
All online orders use biodegradable tape where tape is necessssary.
We ask customers if they would like a tax invoice emailed rather than printed. We try to avoid printing reciepts from any heat activated printers as this paper is non recyclable.
Actively attempt to reduce all paper wastage wherever possible while maintaining required operating procedures.
Have used environmentally friendly cleaning and office products for years. We mostly use the products from Zero Co. – a company that offers a service to refill empty pouches. This saves on recycling or wastage of bottles and refil sachets.
We monitor waste levels to ensure kept to a minimum.

Sourcing/Suppliers

Show preference to suppliers with environmentally friendly packaging and products. Our prefered brands for this reason are:
- Oceanpro
- OceanHunter
- Aqualung
- Apeks

Re-Use

We re-use all paper printed on only one side in our printer. If cannot be re-printed upon, we use as scrap note paper. After used, paper is recycled.
All packaging, padding, and wrapping used in our parcels has been re-purposed. We collect the wrapping sent to us by our suppliers to use for our parcels. We would love for all parcels to be sent with recyclable and recycled packaging, but not all of our suppliers send their product in this (unfortunately). Our current system reduces the overall waste for our operations. We have not purchased any packing materials since before 2019, but if in future we need to do so it will be recycled paper or cardboard products.
We harvest any old items for spare parts, to be used for rental equipment or provided to customers if requested.

Recycle

Implemented a Coffee-Cup Recycling procedure in store, where we send single-use coffee cups of our customers to be recycled. Read more in our blog about Recycling single-use coffee cups here.
As of January 2024 we began sending off old, un-usable wetsuits to be recycled with Upparrel. A blog post will be created soon detailing this process.
We recycle to the maximum ability of local council – ie. Recycling bins for any recycling products.
Utilise seperated and clearly labelled bins for customer use to ensure waste separation for recycling.
Dropping soft plastics into RedCycle bins at Coles/ Woolworths stores (As of November 2022 Redcycle has ceased operation in Australia. As soon as new incentives are implemented we will resume soft plastic recycling)
Bottles and cans recycled with the Return and Earn scheme.
We recycle metal at scrap metal recycling businesses.
We use our local council green waste bins for food waste and grass/garden maintenance.
All batteries, small electronics, printer cartidges are recycled at Officeworks.

What we do to reduce energy

All lights (except for security lighting) are turned off at close of business.
Computers and technology (except for security cameras and associated PC) are switched off at close of business
We have solar panels installed and schedule when using the most electricity around times when the most energy can be generated.

What we do to prioritise the environment in our tours & courses

Educate our customers about the fragility reef ecosystems and the local environment.
Follow all regulations and recommendations in regards to use of the Solitary Islands Marine Park
Teach PADI Aware Specialties such as Shark Awareness, Fish ID, and Underwater Naturalist.
Using moorings, not anchoring our boats.

Other Action

We follow Padi Aware’s 10 Tips to Protect the Ocean Planet including points such as Take only photographs, leave only bubbles, Protect underwater life – Choose not to touch, feed, handle, chase, or ride anything underwater, and become a debris activist – removal of rubbish whenever found underwater or around the water
Maintaining servicing of all vessels and vehicles to ensure they are running efficiently.
Continuing to implement measures to reduce wastage, electricity, and fuel.
Are strong supporters of Project Aware (the environmental initiative of PADI) for many years, Jetty Dive has been recognized for its work leading projects such as “Splash for Trash” as part of International Clean up Day.
We are also very proud to have achieved the status of a “Go Eco” operator rating, ranking Tourism Operators based on their interaction and impact on the environment.
EcoTourism Australia Advanced Ecotourism Certified. This certification requires updating and checking of procedures each year to remain on track.
We have a “reef-friendly” sunscreen policy to help prevent harmful chemicals entering the ecosystem. Read more here.