Wyndham’s citizens are being urged to keep plastic off their beaches.
A clean-up at Point Cook Coastal Park in May revealed 70 per cent of the litter was plastic.
Wyndham council’s environmental sustainability portfolio holder, Peter Gibbons, said plastic was unsightly and deadly.
“Fish, dolphins, penguins, seabirds and other marine animals can ingest plastic and die,” Cr Gibbons said.
“Plastic rings, netting and fishing lines can choke penguins and seals. Recently, a platypus was found in the Werribee River with a plastic wristband caught around its neck.
“With summer coming on, it’s in everyone’s interests to have a litter-free beach. It’s a no-brainer; you bin it or swim in it.”
Cr Gibbons said the council and the Werribee River Association had applied for state government funding to map the performance of Wyndham’s stormwater litter traps along its waterways.
Cr Gibbons said the council’s litter prevention and reduction strategy also focused on identifying litter sources.
“For example, if a lot of fishing line ends up on the beach, we may contact the local angling club to see if we can get the message out about not letting fishing tackle litter the bay or rivers as it can be deadly for marine life,” he said.
CSIRO senior research scientist Britta Denise Hardesty said that by 2050 an estimated 95 per cent of Australia’s seabirds would have plastic in their stomachs.
“The throwaway culture ingrained in our society needs to change if we are to tip the scales back in favour of the wildlife in our oceans,” she said.
