Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697634937190.pdf (Australia)
Senate Inquiry: The threat of marine plastic pollution in Australia SUBMISSION TO: Committee Secretary Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 SUBMISSION BY: Silke Stuckenbrock Two Hands Project Inc. PO Box 4296 Curl Curl NSW 2099 Two Hands project are a leading NGO focussed on marine debris and pollution.
Our work crosses over a range of activities including inspiring tens of thousands of Australians to tackle marine debris with ‘their own two hands’.

A major theme of our work has been to document the extent and nature of marine plastic pollution.
This has included trawling across beaches and waterways to discover the extent of microplastics and microbeads found in our waterways, underwater dives to inspect the state of sediment on our rivers and coasts, and participating in the Tangaroa Blue Marine Database to collate data regarding coastal litter.

We congratulate the Senate on undertaking this investigation and welcome an opportunity to provide further information regarding the devastating impact of marine plastic pollution.
Rather than make another data based submission, Two Hands Project believes that we can best provide qualitative rather than quantitative information to this inquiry.

To this end we would ask for the opportunity to testify before the Senate to show a series of videos that demonstrate the nature and extent of marine plastic pollution shot by leading international underwater videographer, Dean Cropp, and many volunteers across the nation.
We would envisage presenting a short 10 minute video that touches on the key marine plastic pollution issues and then have prepared a series of clips focussing on specific aspects of the issue as the Senators may wish to better understand.
The range of these clips will include: - What’s at the bottom of our waters (underwater film looking at debris that has sunk) - Microbeads and micro plastics (trawling our waters and beaches to discover the extent of the pollution) Litter capture (what gross pollutants catch and don’t catch) Litter Hotspots - - - Perspectives of leading scientists working with plastic impacted species.
Threat of marine plastic pollution in AustraliaSubmission 25 The videos will also include a comprehensive interview on the work and finding of leading biologist Dr Jennifer Lavers of Research Fellow, Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies who is travelling and unable to make a submission by deadline.

Dr Lavers has specialised in the impacts of plastic pollution on seabird populations in Australia in multiple long term studies.
Obviously, these files are unwieldy to send electronically, and the lead time to make submissions doesn’t allow a small NGO with limited resources to undertake the level of editing required.

To this end we request that we table our video evidence at the time of testimony rather than as the submission itself.

We can ensure the Committee Secretariat has opportunity to view any videos before testimony to ensure the content is appropriate and non-political.

Key Issues: 1.
Key Issues: 1.

The threat of marine plastic pollution in Australia and Australian waters ● Marine plastic pollution is a growing global threat to biodiversity and is already having a devastating impact on the Australian environment with significant potential to disrupt our lifestyle and lead to substantial economic loss.

● Research shows that practical government action will eliminate over 70% of the marine ● debris found across the Australian coastal and estuarine environments.
Previous government efforts and inquiries have consistently been ineffective and underestimated the problem.

2.

Generation of litter and subsequent incidence of marine plastic pollution in Australia ● The CSIRO found that around 75% of marine debris is plastic and generated locally.
● The Boomerang Alliance believes that the Packaging Decision Regulation Impact Statement (DRIS) released in March 2014 greatly underestimated the average amount of packaging litter entering the environment each year at 73,699 tonnes p.a.

which represents just 3.2kgs per capita, as Scotland’s estimated litter was 5 times that of Australia.

With both a higher disposable income and outdoor lifestyle, it is not credible that the rate of littering in Australia is so much lower than that of the US or Scotland.
3.

The products and materials that represent the major sources of marine plastic pollution ● The single largest point of plastic litter and marine debris is beverage sector waste, with plastic bottles, along with lids, straws, cups etc.

representing around half of the material (by volume) of the litter stream and some 60% of all plastic rubbish recovered along our beaches and waterways.
A Container Deposit System would reduce the amount of marine plastic pollution by 50% and Newspolls demonstrate 85% of the public is in support of a CDS.

However, the Commonwealth has ruled out this option, describing it as ‘expensive’ despite costing less than 1¢ per bottle or can sold.

It is reasonable to expect that consumption of single use plastic bags is over 5 billion a year and the amount of plastic bags entering the litter stream each year is likely to be as high as 150million bags p.a.
Plastic bags can migrate quickly and long distances, and are often mistaken as food for marine life such as jellyfish.

● ● Microplastics, including nurdles (pre-production pellets) and microbeads are growing rapidly.

CSIRO has recently forecast that the extent of plastic pollution is doubling every 11 years.
● Studies of the extent of microplastics show microplastic pollution of our waterways have reached ‘alarming’ levels in 27 sites across Sydney Harbour, with concentrations ranging from 0-10 to a high of 61-100 particles per 100ml of sediment in Middle Harbour.

Threat of marine plastic pollution in AustraliaSubmission 25 Microplastics are mistaken as food such as plankton, causing starvation and death in marine life.

Similar levels of pollution can be expected at all our urban rivers, beaches and harbours.
4. fisheries, small business, and human health ● Marine life suffer starvation from ingestion of plastics, illness from toxic chemicals released from ingestion of plastics, entanglement and injury from plastic rubbish and indirect impacts across the food chain as a result of biomagnification of plastic related pollution via eating the contaminated species.

5.
5.

The Solutions ● A Container Deposit System would reduce beverage litter of the marine environment by 60% and almost triple bottle and cans recycling rates to 85%, while also creating an incentive that would see the private sector investing hundreds of millions of dollars into new collection and processing facilities while also providing a significant financial boost for both local government and community organisations.
● Banning plastic bags and microbeads would have a significant impact on the amount of plastic that enters the marine environment and effectively target those plastics that are most likely to be mistaken as a source of food.

Polling conducted for NGO ‘Do Something’ in May 2009 found that 83% of Australians want a ban on non- biodegradable plastic bags.

● Improved stewardship within the plastics industry would address the problem from its source.
Whilst it is already an offense to dump waste down the stormwater system in every Australian jurisdiction, the problem still exists due to a poor effort to enforce regulations and inform the industry that it is expected to ensure nurdles do not migrate from their facilities or transport systems.

Threat of marine plastic pollution in AustraliaSubmission 25 Threat of marine plastic pollution in AustraliaSubmission 25