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.
The Let’s Strain the Drains Project is a Victorian-first monitoring project of marine debris in Port Phillip Bay. This innovative project is funded by the Victorian State Government, delivered by Tangaroa Blue Foundation, Cleanwater Group and Sustainability Victoria with support from the Cities of Wyndham, Hobson’s Bay, Moreland, Kingston, Maribyrnong, and Greater Dandenong. Read more “Let’s Strain the Drains – Port Phillip Bay Region, VIC”
If you’re interested in joining the WA Beach Clean-up but are unable to register your own site, you’re welcome to join an existing group. By clicking the link below, you will be redirected to a map of registered clean-up sites, as indicated by the blue icons.
Once you locate the site that you’d like to join, click on the blue icon to reveal the Coordinator’s contact details. Please reach out to them for further details. If you run into trouble or need more info, please email wabcu@tangaroablue.org.
We are thrilled to share that this event is being supported by the following organizations:
We Refill, The Fisherman’s Daughter,Onya, Sun Butter Oceans and Ocean Conservancy.
The Tangaroa Blue Foundation AGM will be held on October 26th from 9 am – 11 am at the Margaret River Community Resource Centre (in the Soup Kitchen building), 21-33 Tunbridge St, Margaret River WA 6285.
Members and their guests are invited to attend to catch up on all the news from the last 12 months and input into the next year!
To RSVP, please email admin@tangaroablue.org
For anyone not in the area, it will be possible to video link into the meeting. Call-in details will be provided prior to the meeting so please advise us via RSVP if you plan to call in.
We look forward to catching up with everyone!
Good news!
The Victorian Government is implementing a state-wide ban on lightweight plastic shopping bags from 1 November 2019. Read more “Victorian Plastic Bag Ban”
In June, the Tangaroa Blue Foundation welcomed our newest partners, the Australian Skateboarding Community Initiative (ASCI).
The ASCI have a large community network and following all around Australia, that works to connect skatepark users, Councils, Government, Sponsors and other partners in the development of sustainable skatepark plans which benefit the whole community. Beyond skateboarding, the ASCI ethos extends to environmental stewardship and support for charitable organisations.
The ASCI will connect skateboarding events such as the ‘Rumble on the Reef’ festival in September with Tangaroa Blue Foundation activities.
We are excited to embark on this original partnership with ASCI, connecting and expanding our audiences and bringing light to the issue of marine debris, and in particular single-use plastics.
You can learn more about the Australian Skateboarding Community Initiative on the ASCI website.
