A DEDICATED group of Yeppoon locals this morning joined Bob Irwin to clean up Farnborough Beach.

Earlier this year, Plastic Bag Free Livingstone and Keppel MP Brittany Lauga started a parliamentary petition to see Livingstone Shire rid of single-use bags.

In half an hour, the group managed to fill several bags full of rubbish collected from around the beach.

Bob said the move to ban plastic bags had been successful in other states.

"There is no reason why we, as proud Queenslanders, can't do the same thing," he said.

"I'd like to then see it continued Australia-wide.

"That means then that our beautiful marine animals have got a better chance at survival.

"When you see a marine turtle that's floating on the surface because it's eaten a plastic bag, it's a very sad experience and I'd like never to have to see that again."

Keppel MP Brittany Lauga said thousands of people had signed the petition, with a second recently launched to campaign for container collection schemes like those used in South Australia.

"I think that the pressure now is on the state government to really consider the way forward and I know that it's definitely on their agenda," she said.