Tag Archives: ocean

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Do you use plastic shopping bags from the supermarket? Do you reuse them or put them in your rubbish? Ever see them blowing around the streets, or floating in waterways? Spare a thought for the environment the next time you accept a plastic bag from a supermarket, or anywhere you shop. There are now very efficient alternatives to plastic bags when shopping. Please choose them.

Here are a few shocking facts about plastic bags in our oceans:

  • 3.5 million tonnes of plastic bags are produced worldwide yearly. That's approximately 1 trillion plastic bags coming into the world every year!
  • Millions of tonnes of plastic are currently accumulating in the world’s oceans, causing massive ecological damage to water, marine life and other ecosystems.
  • Plastic survives a long time in sea water – much longer than on land.
  • If Columbus had dumped plastic bags into the ocean in 1492, fragments of his litter would still be drifting today!
  • Plastic bags and plastic debris is like a sponge in seawater, and soaks up generous pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from ocean water.
  • Seabirds eat pretty much everything floating on the water. They are now also eating and ingesting plastics in our seas, which is absorbed into their bodies. Evidence suggests this toxicity in seabirds is affecting their populations.
  • There are 7 species of sea turtles in the world, which have evolved over hundreds of millions of years. A major food source for them is jellyfish, but numbers are declining from toxicity and death from eating plastic bags floating on the water surface that look like jellyfish.
  • 6 of these 7 turtle species are now officially listed as at risk of extinction!
  • In Australia, marine life like seabirds, turtles, fish and even dolphins and dugongs are being injured and killed from eating plastic bags and balloons.
  • In countries where a tax was introduced for shoppers who choose plastic bags – such as in Ireland, where a 15 cent per bag tax is charged – the use of plastic bags has dropped 90%. Why aren’t we doing this in Australia?
  • Other countries have banned plastic bags completely, including developing nation Bangladesh. If they can make such as a difference, with a poor economy and development, surely wealthier countries can achieve this easily.

The 500 Year Shopping Trip

Almost every person in Australia uses an average of 300 plastic bags a year. That’s around 6 billion plastic bags all together. The early plastic shopping bags can take up to 500 years to decay in landfill. There is an alternative. It’s called a reusable shopping bag. And all major supermarkets now sell them for just a couple of dollars. Not only will using one help the planet, but your shopping is not likely to burst through the bag and roll around on the floor.

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What is a flood?

Floods are a natural, reoccurring process that have historically shaped the landscape of most countries. Southeast Queensland’s subtropical climate makes it prone to weather that can cause flooding, and as we’ve experienced in recent years, more extreme weather conditions have caused widespread mass flooding with challenging consequences. Floods in our region are predominantly caused by heavy rainfall, but may also be a result of swollen rivers and tidal surges.

There are two types of flooding that can occur:

Flash flooding refers to water coming ‘down’ and involves intense rainfall, usually over a short period of time, rapid rise of water levels and high flows of water moving through the catchments.

River flooding refers to water coming ‘up’ and involves prolonged rainfall and slow rise of water levels.

How does rainwater move through a catchment?

With a natural, forested catchment, most rain falls on hill slopes and vegetation. Vegetated hill slopes creates minimal erosion. Vegetation stores the rain in soil, slowly releasing water over time, which helps sustain flows of water during dry periods. In a highly modified catchment, such as a city or town, the natural vegetation has been dramatically changed, therefore hill slopes and catchments will react very differently. In these modified environments, impervious or hard surfaces, such as roads, buildings and roofs reduce the amount of rainfall that can soak into the ground, causing more water to become runoff. This fast flowing movement of water carries large amounts of sediment and pollutants into stormwater drains and out into our waterways.

What is litter?

Litter in our waterways is a serious pollution problem that affects our wildlife, aquatic habitats, water quality and the recreational use of our waterways. Litter is almost any material that is disposed of incorrectly, including: fast food wrappers, drink bottles, cigarette butts, poorly secured material escaping vehicles and rubbish bins, paint tipped down the drain and much more. It is estimated that approximately 80% of all waterway litter originates from land based activities.

Floods and litter

When litter is dropped on land, rain and flooding carries it into stormwater drains, which empty into creeks and rivers. Once litter reaches our waterways, it is very difficult to remove. If the catchment has no vegetation to slow down flood water, the amount of litter and pollutants that enter our waterways significantly increases.

How does litter affect waterways?

Queensland sadly has the highest amount of litter of all mainland states in Australia. After being washed into our creeks and rivers, discarded litter slowly makes its way to our oceans. Waterway litter is extremely harmful to wildlife, who become entangled or mistake litter for food, resulting in injury or death. Waterway litter caused the death of at least 100,000 marine mammals, including turtles, dugongs and whales, as well as almost one million seabirds worldwide each year. Aquatic habitats such as coral and seagrass beds are also damaged by litter. In addition, litter makes our waterways look dirty and unattractive, which reduces recreational use and impacts on tourism.

Litter impact facts

  • Studies have found that 30-40% of sea turtles found dead in Moreton Bay have a significant amount of plastic litter in their stomachs.
  • 80% of litter in our waterways is made of plastic such as plastic bags, plastic water bottles and food wrappers. Most plastic objects never biodegrade – they just break down into smaller and smaller pieces.
  • ŸAn estimated 4.5 million cigarette butts are littered every year worldwide. Cigarette butts contain toxic chemicals which will start to leach out within an hour of contact with water.
  • ŸLiquid litter such as paint and household chemicals contain toxins that are hazardous to people and wildlife, and degrade water quality. Even when these products are diluted they should never be tipped down stormwater drains or dumped into or near waterways.

Healthy waterways

Healthy Waterways is a not-for-profit, non-government organisation working to protect and improve waterway health in SE Qld. They facilitate careful planning and coordinated efforts among a network of member organisations from government, industry and the community.

Healthy Waterways Clean Up Program

The Healthy Waterways Clean Up Program collects over 240,000 items of floating litter from SE Qld waterways each year. The program, which has been operating for over 10 years, also aims to increase community understanding about the issue and impacts of waterway litter. The Healthy Waterways Clean Up Program recorded a 50% increase in the number of plastic water bottles collected from local waterways between 2007 and 2012. Please use a reusable water bottle instead!

8 tips to limit your litter

1. Dispose of rubbish in a bin and ensure rubbish is secure.

2. Use the three R rule: reduce your use of plastic, reuse items you may otherwise throw away, and recycle as much as possible.

3. Use a reusable water bottle instead of buying plastic water bottles.

4. Smokers, out your cigarette butts in the bin!

5. Pick up any litter you see and remind everyone to dispose of rubbish carefully.

6. Report littering and illegal dumping via the Department of Environment and Resource Management or your local council.

7. Carry a litter bag in your vehicle or on your bicycle.

8. Contact your local catchment group to organise or join a waterway litter clean up day or program. Clean Up Australia Day activities are important, as well as regular ongoing activities year round.

For more information, contact:

Healthy Waterways

www.healthywaterways.org

and

Australian Marine Conservation Society

www.amcs.org.au

 

Courtesy of Healthy Waterways.