New research by The University of Notre Dame Australia has highlighted the lasting impact single use plastics are having on Western Australia’s beaches, with litter made up of such items more than a decade old regularly washing up on beaches.
The research team – assisted by a dedicated group of volunteers – collected 5322 individual pieces of litter from Bather’s Beach over a seven-month period from October 2022 to May of this year.
The litter was then sorted and analysed, revealing that 43 per cent was made from single-use plastics. Among the waste was a distinctive black plastic Coke bottle base that is believed to have been made in the 1990s. A tomato sauce sachet stamped with a use by date of April 2016 was also recovered, still in reasonable condition.
Drinking straws, which were banned from sale in WA last year, still regularly wash up on the beach. Several that can be linked to one fast-food chain have been recovered, despite that company voluntarily phasing out their use in 2021.
Lead researcher Dr Linda Davies, from Notre Dame’s School of Arts and Sciences, said the findings demonstrated why current efforts to reduce plastic waste were so important, given the legacy that these plastics have on the marine environment.
“What our research demonstrates is that a large amount of the waste washing around in our oceans has actually been there for an extended period of time,” Dr Davies said. “Even if we were to ban all plastics overnight, our beaches and waterways would continue to be blighted by this problem for many years to come.
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“Unlike organic wastes, these items never actually break down, even after decades of being smashed about in the ocean. Instead, they simply break apart into ever smaller pieces, eventually turning into harmful micro plastic particles that end up in the food chain and ultimately inside our bodies.”
Beverage containers, food packaging and cigarette butts with non-recyclable plastic filters were among the biggest sources of plastic waste, making up 57 per cent of total plastics (see table below for a full breakdown).
As part of the research project, a specially designed seahorse-shaped bin, made by local sculpture artist Melanie Maclou, was erected at Bather’s Bay. The bin was fitted with a combination lock to ensure only those involved in the research project could deposit waste in it.
The waste would then be collected by Dr Davies’ research team, who sorted and analysed it to determine the types of products that are ending up in the ocean, as well as where they were likely to have come from. The data that has been gathered will now be used as a baseline to help monitor the long-term effectiveness of local and state government waste reduction strategies, including WA’s Plan for Plastics.
“By sorting and classifying the waste, we can see that local business, particularly food and beverage outlets, are a major source of the plastic waste that is still going into the ocean down at Bather’s Beach,” Dr Davies said.
“But we can also see that a lot of the waste is coming from further afield, including from ships, storm water outlets, or via the river.
“We plan to share those insights with the local business community to help them understand where their packaging is ending up and the impacts that it is having on our environment.
“Importantly, our data also provides us with a baseline that we can use to monitor the longer-term effectiveness of local and state government waste reduction strategies.”