A new portable waste facility has been installed and portable toilets will be mandatory at Teewah Beach from 12 October 2021 with human waste being inappropriately disposed in the area's natural environment.
From that date, all campers staying in the Teewah Beach camping zones 1 to 7 must bring and use a portable toilet for the duration of their stay.
The camping zones cover 14km of beach including the dune area and sand cliffs between the Noosa Shire Council boundary and Little Freshwater Creek.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife (QPWS) Assistant Director-General Andrew Buckley said the new requirement was the best answer to the issue of toileting at Teewah Beach.
"There is a problem in this area with high levels of bush toileting occurring, particularly during peak times, contaminating the environment and posing an unacceptable health risk to campers and visitors," Mr Buckley said.
"Constructing permanent toilets in the camping zones we manage at Teewah Beach is not feasible as shifting sands and tidal influences make it impossible to erect any permanent structures.
"To assist campers with the new requirement, QPWS has installed a portable waste disposal facility at Noosa North Shore for Teewah Beach campers.
"The facility is at Noosa North Shore's second cutting, making it easy for campers travelling from Teewah Beach to dispose of their waste before heading home."
The facility – a $576,000 investment that incorporates four individual dump points and a specially constructed access road and standing areas – complements similar amenities in the Cooloola Recreation Area at the Freshwater day-use area and on Clarkson Drive in the Rainbow Beach township.
The waste disposal facility and the mandatory use of portable toilets by campers will go a long way towards reducing pollution and improving everyone's experience when visiting the Cooloola Recreation Area.
From 12 October it will be an offence to camp in this area without a portable toilet, with an on-the-spot penalty of $413 applying for offenders.
While using portable toilets in the Teewah Beach camping zones is now mandatory, rangers will focus on education rather than compliance over the coming months.
Mr Buckley said that over coming weeks QPWS rangers would be talking to campers about the benefits of using portable toilets and where the human waste disposal facilities were located.
