The owner of a beachside cafe has come up with a waste-busting idea to swap buckets of rubbish for a scoop of gelato.

Key points: A cafe owner was encouraged to 'go green' and offer gelato to people who collect rubbish

A cafe owner was encouraged to 'go green' and offer gelato to people who collect rubbish Plastic bottles top the list of rubbish found which is taken to the cafe to be sorted and recycled

Plastic bottles top the list of rubbish found which is taken to the cafe to be sorted and recycled Local businesses are being encouraged to participate and help protect the region's turtles

"We were brainstorming on what we could do with our empty buckets and that's where the idea came from," said Joey Caruana, who operates Windmill Cafe at Bargara, 400 kilometres north of Brisbane.

"We thought we'd make it fun, lets swap out a bucket of rubbish for gelato, and that's what we've done.

Lost thongs are among the litter found on Bargara's beaches. ( ABC News: Johanna Marie )

"The gelato-giving part is the cherry on top."

The cafe has placed about 10 buckets along the coastline from Nielson's Beach to Kelly's Beach for people to find.

"It's almost like a treasure hunt now with people looking for the buckets," Mr Caruana said.

"We've had lots of families, they go out for a walk, pick up a bucket and walk along the beach.

"The very first bucket return was a three-year-old girl with her mum, and it was pretty sweet to see."

When the rubbish comes into the cafe, it gets sorted and recycled, and some of the collected items have surprised Mr Caruana.

"I've discovered lots of thongs, from the traditional Aussie flag thong to Hawaiian Havaianas."

But plastic water bottles top the list of rubbish found littering Bargara's beaches.

"They look like they've been there for years, some are crushed and not biodegradable at all," Mr Caruana said.

It was the Windmill Cafe's young employees who came up with the idea and encouraged Mr Caruana to go green.

Bargara businesses are ditching plastic cups and straws to help protect the local turtle population. ( ABC News: Nicole Hegarty )

"I'd love for Bargara to be Australia's first total recycle, non-plastic using area, and it's feasible it's something we can do," he said.

"We recycle everything, our garbage bags are recyclable, our spoons are recyclable, gone are the days where plastic straws are around."

Rebecca Lang, owner of juice bar Of The Earth, said it was important that local businesses did their part to support the environment and the region's famous Mon Repos turtle sanctuary.

"We don't want any plastic floating around in our beautiful ocean," Ms Lang said.

Juice bar owner Rebecca Lang is now using stainless steel straws. ( ABC News: Johanna Marie )

"All the businesses at Bargara are supporting a greener environment … all of our cups, and coffee cups are all biodegradable and we also encourage and sell stainless steel straws.

"We don't want any of our turtles swimming around with plastic on them, effecting their lives."

Mr Caruana is encouraging businesses and residents to get involved and talk about other waste-tackling initiatives that could be done.

"If the little coffee shop can recycle and do everything like that, it's a no-brainer really," he said.

"We have to be conscious about the next step, where we are taking the community.

"Tourists expect the best, and our Bargara and our coastline area is the best."