The Australian Marine Debris Initiative is a network of communities, schools, industries, government agencies and individuals focused on reducing the amount of marine debris washing into our oceans.
On every beach around Australia you will find some form of marine debris, from litter left by visitors to international debris, to ghost nets or rubbish washed from far inland through stormwater drains.
The statistics are horrifying with the United Nationals' Regional Seas Program estimating more than 18,000 pieces of plastic in each square kilometre of ocean; and other research estimating more than 8 million tonnes of debris entering the world's oceans each year. The majority of this marine debris is plastic, which due to its chemical makeup is a long lasting material. Plastics, once released into the environment, never biodegrade, instead photodegrading breaking into smaller and smaller pieces of the original item, forever remaining in the environment.
The Australian Marine Debris Initiative is a way that everyone can become involved in both the removal of marine debris and finding solutions to stop the flow of rubbish into our oceans.
In our continued efforts to improve the training and information available to our AMDI partners, the Tangaroa Blue team has been busily developing a new series of videos that will clarify some common questions on specific items in the AMDI Database. From foam to straws to packaging, these bite-sized videos will give you the info you need to upload clear and detailed data. Read more “New Videos Dig Deeper into the Data”
West Australians turned out in force and proved their care for the marine environment by participating in the 15th annual WA Beach Clean-Up event over 19-20 October.
More than 1,000 volunteers from families, community, school and business groups registered to participate. These included one-person clean-ups to large groups of all ages at 110 sites across the State, from the remote Banjal Beach in the north Kimberley to Kanidal Beach on the South Coast. Read more “2019 WA Beach Clean-up Wrap-up”
We recently announced that we reached the milestone of 15 million items being recorded in the Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database, and we could not have done it without our amazing partner Clean4Shore!
Read more “Thank you Clean4Shore!”
Better Buds is a community group founded in Warrnambool, Victoria. Their goal is to ban all plastic stem cotton buds in Australia, and they hope to achieve that through their Better Buds Campaign.
According to their site, the plastic stems of cotton buds are often flushed down the toilet, where they enter the marine environment through sewage ocean outfalls. Over the last two years, Warrnambool volunteers have collected over 20,000 of them. Read more “Pledges Help Stop Cotton Bud Marine Pollution”
Youth Ambassadors – It’s Our Turn to Change the Tide!
South Stradbroke Island – Marine Debris Project
by Charlie-Jane Hamblyn and Zara McConachy
South Stradbroke Island is a destination for tourists and locals alike. Located on the South East coast of Queensland within the Moreton Bay Region (Quandamooka Country), this beautiful and unique island ecosystem has fallen victim to a devastating and increasing marine debris problem. Earlier this year, Cyclone Oma caused severe weather that resulted in parts of the island that usually remain untouched becoming overwhelmed with marine debris. Large amounts of remains created by the waste habits of humans were pushed by the cyclone above the tide line and alongside the litter left from travellers. This waste is now wreaking havoc on the islands’ beautiful and unique ecosystems. Read more “Youth Ambassadors on Stradbroke Island”
