Alistair Bell, Byron Bay
If the controversial redneck rocks were dumped in the water to make a reef 50 metres offshore at Belongil they might protect the beach from big angry waves – without making it inaccessible and ugly – and save the houses, maybe not for ever but at least until current residents have stopped worrying. Create a new surf break, probably known as ‘Vaughan’s’, and maybe even prevent some divisive and costly arguments.
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Possibly an even better solution is used tyres chained together to form huge v-shaped reefs which serve both as surf-breaks and excellent marine habitat. No doubt there’d arguments against potential toxins released from old tyres as they slowly break down, but taking into account the massive volume of the ocean, the fact that all materials more or less come from nature anyway, and the very slow rate of decomposition, that hardly rates as a factor. Then taking into account the near-impossibility of disposing them in an environmentally friendly manner, this manner of recycling serves several purposes at once and would be extremely cost-effective.