Coastcare Issues
Rubbish
Did you know that…
- Around 7 billion tonnes of debris enters the world’s oceans every year. This is more than 200 times the total amount of waste produced by the whole of Australia in one year.
- Australians use around 7 billion plastic bags every year, which is one bag per Australian for every day of the year. These take approximately 50 years to break down, while plastic bottles can take up to 500 years to break down.
- Plastic bags have long been known as a killer of marine life. However, bits of hard plastic are now seen as a bigger problem.
Rubbish is unattractive, dangerous and unhealthy. Some rubbish can take a long time to break down and can kill wildlife. Most coastal pollution originates on land. Rubbish thrown onto streets is washed into storm water drains and end up in the sea.
What can I do to help?
Coastcare groups conduct clean ups at their local beach, estuary or lagoon. If you prefer the underwater world, Coastcare diving teams regularly organise ‘splash for trash’, or underwater clean-ups.
If you have carried it in… carry it out.
Pick up a Go-Green shopping bag at Coles.
