As coronavirus restrictions ease, littering returns

Emma Attard and her family emerged from their home over the long weekend to find garbage strewn across the neighbouring beach.

"It's heartbreaking to see a place you love so much be subjected to such callous behaviour," Ms Attard said.

"And sadly, it's not the first time this sort of thing has happened."

Melted plastic bottles and bags, smashed glass bottles, fishing lines and even a gas cooker with canisters were among the rubbish left in the conservation area.

It took the family several hours to clean up the debris.

"We dug and raked through the sand and kept finding more buried glass and shards," she said.

"It's scary to think how much there could have been. It was spread out over a massive area."

An angry Facebook post by Ms Attard gained traction with hundreds of people sharing the post in the hope someone would fess up to the act.

It didn't take long for someone to contact Ms Attard, claiming to be one of the individuals who caused the mess and apologising for it.

"It shows a lot of guts and character to own up to it," Ms Attard said.

"It made our day and we appreciated the gesture."

Next month marks the 10-year anniversary of Plastic Free July, Plastic Free Launceston's Trish Haeusler said it was important people remembered not to litter as restrictions ease.

"Now that we're all heading out and about ... I think we've all got to get back to being mindful of our impact and everyday practices, particularly with waste," Ms Haeusler said.

She added that she had not seen as much rubbish in the streets, attributed to most people staying indoors due to pandemic restrictions.