Calls for major change after 'devastating' find among bones on Aussie beach

Yahoo

24-03-2025

Conservationists are urgently warning that tougher laws are needed to tackle the worsening issue of pollution in Australian waterways, after a turtle carcass was found with a "belly full of plastic" in the country's far north.
Plastic pollution is an escalating crisis across the continent, with increasing amounts of waste ending up in oceans and rivers right around Australia.
From microplastics washing up on once-pristine beaches to discarded fishing gear entangling marine animals, the impact on wildlife is devastating — and it's getting worse. Last week, Gumurr Marthakal Rangers on Echo Island, off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, found a decomposed turtle that died after consuming plastic.
Ingestion was most likely the cause of death, due to the fact there were no other visible signs of injury. It's not the first time deceased marine creatures have been found with plastic either inside their stomachs or entangled around their bodies. In fact, studies have shown that seabirds, turtles and fish are ingesting plastic at alarming rates.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) Plastic Pollution Campaign Manager Cip Hamilton branded the issue "utterly devastating".
Hamilton says the problem affects virtually every single marine creature. "Almost every marine species in our oceans has encountered plastic pollution, and none of the impacts of this are positive," she said.
"Research suggests that turtles have about 22 per cent chance of dying if they eat just one piece of plastic, and if they're eating 14 pieces, that increases to 50 per cent. As pollution is increasing in our oceans, we're just going to be seeing more and more of this."
When plastic is released into our oceans, it breaks up over time and creates microplastics, which remain in the water for centuries and often leads to death in many animals.
"Once in the bellies of animals, it can starve them, because it prevents them from eating nutritious food, such as fish that they should be," Hamilton said. "It also punctures the gut, because plastic can be quite sharp, which can have devastating consequences as well."
Lawrence Chlebeck with the Humane World For Animals said recent studies have found plastic in the guts of 80 per cent of turtles tested. "Plastic production and pollution are increasing, and therefore, so is the amount of plastic that ends up in our waterways and eventually the ocean," he told Yahoo.
"This is a big problem for marine animals, but also a big problem for us, as microplastics have been found in many fish species we consume.
"Unfortunately, current legislation allows plastic producers to self-regulate, which is about as good as no legislation at all. Producers must be held accountable, invest in recycling and the development of new biodegradable materials."
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Chlebeck says we "can all help the issue by supporting waste-reducing measures, calling for plastic producers to be held accountable" and shift to reusables. "We need to do what we can in our own lives to reduce our dependence on plastics, especially those that are single-use," he said.
Australia produces millions of tonnes of plastic waste annually, yet recycling rates remain low, and much of the plastic discarded today will persist in the environment for hundreds of years.
Single-use plastics, including packaging and takeaway containers, continue to be a major source of pollution, despite efforts by some states to phase them out. Even when disposed of correctly, lightweight plastic can be carried by wind and water into marine ecosystems, where it breaks down into microplastics that contaminate the food chain.
Hamilton says Australia needs stronger policies to curb plastic waste, including stricter bans on harmful materials, improved waste management infrastructure, and greater corporate accountability. "We're seeing plastics throughout the water column. It's in ice in Antarctica, so it's really everywhere," she said.
"We urgently need better and stronger packaging laws in Australia. This is something that the government has promised and committed to, but we're seeing that businesses aren't acting voluntarily. It's really challenging to avoid plastics in our day to day life, and we really need to be shifting to reusable options instead of this reliance on disposable plastics."
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