224 pieces of plastic were found in the stomach of one turtle. Marine turtles can't differentiate between natural prey and plastic. Plastics are riddled with chemicals to create useful qualities such as flexibility or transparency.
At least 44 per cent of marine bird species are known to eat plastic. Last year a sperm whale calf found dead in the Aegean Sea contained all kinds of rubbish, including 100 plastic bags.
A floating plastic bag and a jellyfish look nearly identical, as do fish eggs and the tiny plastic resin pellets - nurdles - used to make plastic.
Wind and ocean currents direct rubbish that has been dumped, dropped, buried or blown out of landfills into 11 patches in the ocean, over a period of about five years.
Of these, the best known is the "great Pacific rubbish patch" in the northwest Pacific which stretches about 700,000sq km.
More than 40,000 plastic shopping bags are dumped in landfills every hour in NZ.
what you can do to reduce marine pollution
2. Reduce your rubbishStudies have shown that about 80 percent of marine pollution comes from the land. So, one of the main ways to reduce marine pollution is to get rid of rubbish carefully, wherever we are. If we reduce the amount of rubbish we make on the land it is likely there will be less rubbish in the ocean. The best place to start is with YOU. You can reduce your rubbish at home and at school by recycling paper, glass, cans and some plastic containers. You could also compost food scraps and find ways to reuse some of your rubbish.Some organisations are working hard to reduce rubbish too. The Ministry for the Environment is working with New Zealand businesses to find ways to lessen packaging of their products. Some organisations are using science and technology to discover ways to use recycled items in their products. And more and more organisations are reducing their rubbish by recycling their waste.3. Make sure only rain goes down the stormwater drain! Most drains flow straight to the sea … which means we could end up swimming in anything that goes down them!One way rubbish from the land makes it into our oceans is through stormwater drains. These drains collect and remove the rainwater from our streets. Unfortunately anything collected by the rainwater as it travels across the road and down the gutters – like cigarette butts, oil from cars and other bits of rubbish – also goes into the stormwater drains. The drains then transport this mix of rainwater and rubbish to our streams and rivers. These streams and rivers flow out to our oceans and this is where the rubbish can end up.
Fortunately there are lots of things we can do to make sure rubbish is not washed down stormwater drains. Important actions are to dispose of your rubbish carefully and reduce your rubbish. If there is less rubbish on the street there is less chance it will be washed down the stormwater drains. Check out the Reduce your rubbish section above to learn more.One way rubbish from the land makes it into our oceans is through stormwater drains. These drains collect and remove the rainwater from our streets. Unfortunately anything collected by the rainwater as it travels across the road and down the gutters – like cigarette butts, oil from cars and other bits of rubbish – also goes into the stormwater drains. The drains then transport this mix of rainwater and rubbish to our streams and rivers. These streams and rivers flow out to our oceans and this is where the rubbish can end up.
their posters:
When we leave litter lying around, it travels out to sea through drains, streams, lagoons and estuaries. Each year rubbish in our oceans harms and kills millions of sea creatures, who get caught in it or mistake it for food. Toxins from plastics poison our seafood and trash makes a perfect home for mosquitos to breed and spread disease.
If we all use fewer products that create rubbish and dispose of what we use carefully, we can keep our beaches and oceans how they should be: litter free. For the rubbish that is already on our beaches the answer is simple: we can pick it up! Beach clean-ups are a great, fun activity to organise for your community. Go to www.loveyourcoast.org for more information, free planning materials and to promote your clean-up.
Sustainable Coastlines:
lots of info about the impacts here
overview of problems/solutions:
The problemDrains to seaThe ocean is downstream from everywhere. When we drop litter or leave rubbish lying around, wind and water carry it out to sea. When it rains, litter on our streets gets washed into drains and flows through underground stormwater pipes to streams, lagoons, estuaries and the sea, littering our coastlines and filling up our oceans with plastic. See the evidence from our downtown drain survey.
Plastic not-so fantasticMost of what we pick up from beaches is made of plastic and has only been used once, like food wrappers, plastic bags and drink bottle caps. Plastic never goes away. It is different from natural, organic things like wood, paper and cotton. Plastic is not natural. It is made from oil mixed with nasty chemicals and does not go away naturally: it does not biodegrade. Because plastic isn’t natural, things made of plastic stay around for a very long time.Check out Our Impact for detailed data on the main offenders.
Trashing our own backyardIn 2011, New Zealanders sent an average of nearly 560 kilograms of waste per person to landfill, making us one of the worst producers of waste in the world. When you consider that there are over 4 million of us, that’s a lot of rubbish.
Man-made menaceOnce in our oceans, rubbish can harm and kill sea creatures. It can look like food to some animals and when they eat it, it fills and blocks their stomachs, leaving no room for food and causing them to starve to death. It can also trap, suffocate and drown sea creatures when they get caught in it. Each year 100,000 marine mammals and 1 million seabirds are killed by rubbish at sea. See the shocking effects for yourself.
Plastic soupWhen rubbish gets into the sea you may not see it again, but it never goes away. It floats on the surface, can travel a very long way, and lasts a very long time. Much of the rubbish we let into our seas ends up in the middle of the ocean in places called gyres or eddies: huge areas where ocean currents slowly travel round in circles. Because of the continual flow of rubbish into the sea, these parts of the ocean are like massive plastic soups and have been referred to as floating garbage patches. Explore this interactive model of ocean pollution.
Fish & Plastic ChipsPlastics can be full of toxic chemicals used in their manufacture. When fish eat plastic pieces floating at sea, they absorb these toxins which become more and more potent with each step up the food chain. This means that the large fish at the top of the food chain have much higher concentrations of these poisons. As humans, we sit at the very top of the food chain. When we eat fish, toxins from the plastic can enter our bodies and cause major health problems. Scary stuff. Check out our campaign: What goes around comes around.
The solutionThe choices we makeIf we all use fewer products that create rubbish and dispose of what we use carefully, we can keep our coasts the way they should be: litter-free. The choices we make have a huge effect on the health of our oceans. Stopping litter, putting rubbish in the bin and following the four ‘R’s are easy ways to do your bit for the beach.
RefuseThe most important of the four ‘R’s. If we don’t create rubbish in the first place, then we don’t need to worry about how we dispose of it, or worry about filling-up our landfills. Say “No” to plastic bags and take your own basket or bag when you go shopping.
ReduceReduce the amount of waste you create. Use less rubbish and throw less away. Grow your own food. It’s fun, saves you money, and food from the garden doesn’t come wrapped in plastic. Buy fewer packaged goods and compost organic waste. Buy food in bulk rather than single-serve, individually wrapped products.
ReuseThink about how something could be used again before you put it in the bin or recycle it. Fill your bottle with water from the tap or filter station rather than buying a new one. Bring your own reusable bag to the supermarket or dairy. Use old ice cream containers as a lunch box or to store things in. Buy a Sustainable Coastlines reusable bottle.
RecycleIf you have to have it and you can’t reuse it, then recycle it. Recycling means that we don’t need as many materials to make new products, saves energy, creates less waste and stops our landfills from filling-up so quickly.
Sign-up to clean-upFor rubbish that is already on our beaches the answer is simple: we can pick it up! Beach clean-ups are a great way to learn more about the issue and get involved in a hands-on solution. For invites to our events and to keep up to date with what we’re doing to look after our coastlines, join our mailing list through the form at the bottom of this page. Check out our upcoming events.
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