Never before seen photos of six-tonne find on Aussie coast exposes growing crisis
Everything from fishing nets, bottles, toothbrushes, food packaging and vapes was removed from eight kilometres of the Northeast Arnhem Land coastline in the Northern Territory, with dead wildlife also caught up in the debris.
Footage captured during the annual clean-up effort by Dhimurru Rangers and Sea Shepherd Australia in May, shows mountains of litter on the beaches, with 274,288 individual pieces removed. The majority of the discarded waste was plastic (96 per cent), while the remaining rubbish was made up of ropes — all of which contain plastic pieces.
Authorities made up of 31 environment and First Nations groups are urging the federal government to finalise a Global Plastic Treaty in a desperate bid to address the devastating impact of pollution on native wildlife and the environment.
Australia at 'tipping point' with plastic pollution
More than 130,000 tonnes of plastic leak into Australia's oceans every year, according to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), and the issue is only being exacerbated without a global action plan to tackle the problem.
Cip Hamilton from the Australian Marine Conservation Society said Australia is well and truly in a plastic crisis now, with the most recent clean-up effort serving as a reminder that we're at a "tipping point".
"Without global action, plastic production is projected to triple by 2060, which would send plastic pollution spiralling out of control," she said. "The time for compromise is over. Plastic pollution is choking our oceans, killing marine life, and threatening ecosystems from coast to coast."
"Australia must use all diplomatic means to finalise a strong, legally binding plastics treaty at international negotiations next month."
The third UN Ocean Conference kicked off last month in France, with 95 countries, including Australia, in support of a global action plan. However, it remains to be seen whether the momentum will carry into next month when the second half of the negotiations are held in Switzerland.
Indigenous Australians suffering from plastic pollution crisis
Indigenous Australians are speaking out about how painful the issue is to their communities, with intense connections to the land and water being compromised.
The clean-up mission, which has been an annual event for over two decades, has seen Dhimurru Rangers remove countless ghost nets and marine debris from Yolŋu Sea Country.
🚮 Simple bin mistake forces entire truckloads to be dumped in landfill
😲 Incredible transformation after grim 7.6 tonne find in river
👀 Dangerous discovery made 30cm under Aussie garden
"The ocean is our law, our food, our stories, and our future. When plastic floods our coastline, it damages more than the environment — it damages who we are," a spokesperson for the Dhimurru Rangers said.
"Don't let the tide of plastic rise. Finalise a strong plastics treaty now."
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