Plastic pollution along Australia’s metropolitan coastlines has declined by more than a third over the past decade, according to a new study by the country’s National Science Bureau.
Coastal plastic waste in major cities has declined by 39% since 2013. Marine Pollution Reportfound.
It also saw a 16% increase in research sites where no debris was found.
The results are based on 1,907 surveys conducted in six metropolitan areas: Hobart, Newcastle, Perth, Port Augusta, Sunshine Coast and Alice Springs.
Debris was recorded inland, rivers and coastal areas within a 100 km radius of each location.
“Three-quarters of the garbage on our beaches are plastic, and flexible plastics like food packaging are the most harmful to wildlife,” said Dr. Dennis Hardesty, a senior research scientist at CSIRO and a co-author of the study.
The most commonly found item was polystyrene fragments, with 24% fragments and 20% cigarette butts. Other frequently recorded waste include food wrappers, bottle lids and caps, and hard plastic debris.
Newcastle, Perth and the Sunshine Coast saw improvements, but cities like Hobart and Port Augusta recorded an increase in coastal debris.
Port Augusta recorded the most food rappers, while Sunshine Coast highly valued cigarette waste. Alice Springs, which has no coastal location, reported the highest prevalence of beverage cans.
“There are still areas of concern, but it’s exciting to see plastic pollution significantly decrease as people across the country are more aware of the harmful effects of plastic waste on people, communities and wildlife,” Dr. Hardesty said.
This study also highlighted socioeconomic and land use patterns as important predictors of waste accumulation. Intensive land use and greater disadvantaged areas showed higher debris levels.
Australia has implemented a series of measures in recent years, including a series of sediment schemes and a ban on single-use plastics to tackle plastic pollution. This study suggests that such policies and local cleaning campaigns and public education can help reduce the amount of plastic entering the environment.
“Understanding the types and amounts of plastic pollution in our environment provides important data to develop strategies to stop it from ending there in the first place,” said Dr. Steph Brodie, research scientist and learning co-author at CSIRO.
The new study is based on previous CSIRO studies showing that between 2013 and 2020 plastic waste decreased by 29% across Australia.
Australia has pledged to phase out problematic unnecessary plastics by 2025 and recycle or reuse all plastic waste by 2040 as part of its national waste policy.
Globally, plastic production exceeds 430 million tonnes per year, with just 9% of waste being recycled, according to an OECD report.
According to the United Nations, the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could almost triple from 9-14 million tonnes per year in 2016 to 237 million tonnes projected by 2040.
In December 2024, countries around the world gathered to negotiate a legally binding global plastics treaty. However, talks fell and will resume again in June.
