Most plastic pollution comes from littering or overflowing bins, trucks and events, eventually becoming ‘accidental litter’. When it rains, litter goes down the drain, through stormwater pipes and out to sea. Over a long period of time, this plastic pollution breaks into smaller pieces (it never breaks down) and eventually becomes micro plastic, which pollutes our oceans and kills marine life.
Council is dedicated to a plastic free Northern Beaches and deliver a number of initiatives to reduce single use plastics.
Check out our Swap This For That videos encouraging our community reduce single use plastics.
The following news stories also give some great alternatives to single use plastics;
Did you know?
- Australians use approximately 3.9 billion plastic bags per year
- An estimated 420 million plastic bottles enter Australia’s marine environment every year
- Australians use an estimated 1 billion disposable coffee cups each year, 90% of which end up in landfill
- Studies predict our oceans will contain more plastics than fish by 2050
- 18,000 pieces of plastic are estimated to float in every square kilometre of ocean (Tangaroa Blue)
- One million plastic bottles are sold every minute globally
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