By Amy Campion
On a busy summer day at The Pillars in Mount Martha, the view can be spectacular. But when the crowds leave, what remains is not quite so pretty. Litter is a frustrating problem, but it is also part of a much larger marine story.
A recent peer-reviewed study into macroplastic pollution – meaning plastic pieces larger than 5mm – ranked 117 marine mammal species according to their exposure, sensitivity and ability to recover from harm. It placed the Australian sea lion behind only the Hawaiian monk seal and African manatee.
Australian sea lions are not endemic to the Mornington Peninsula, being found mainly in South Australian and Western Australian waters. But the same kinds of plastic that threaten marine mammals elsewhere are present on our own beaches and in our bays.
Peninsula environmental advocate Josie Jones OAM says years of coastal monitoring have shown Port Phillip behaves differently from an open ocean system. “Once litter enters the bay, much of it remains circulating within the bay environment through the tidal and intertidal zones, rather than simply dispersing out to sea.”
Josie says litter found on Port Phillip beaches is often linked directly to beach recreation and coastal visitation, including food packaging, soft plastics, fishing line, cigarette butts and polystyrene fragments. Ineffective management can exacerbate the issue, with mechanical beach raking sometimes breaking plastics down and burying them in sand rather than removing them.
Jess Brady, from Western Port Biosphere, says plastic pollution is more than a beachside problem. “Every piece of litter dropped on streets, beaches or waterways that is not collected will eventually wash into the sea through stormwater drains and creeks, impacting marine and coastal ecosystems far beyond where it was discarded.” Jess says wildlife can mistake plastic for food or become entangled in it, and reducing harm starts at the source: buying less, using less, and choosing packaging that leaves less waste behind.
The Mornington Peninsula Shire says it regularly attends busy locations to address litter and has programs to minimise coastal plastic waste, including beach cleaning, litter patrols, public bins in foreshore areas, and a summer litter campaign. A spokesman encouraged residents, visitors and boaties to use bins where available, or take litter home. Full bins and litter issues can be reported through the shire’s website at mornpen.vic.gov.au/Home, and residents can collect bin latches from customer service centres to help stop kerbside rubbish blowing into waterways.
This is one environmental problem where ordinary choices still matter. We can all take rubbish home, use less single-use plastic, pick up what others leave behind when it is safe to do so, and keep fishing lines, soft plastics and cigarette butts out of the sand and water.
The Australian sea lion may live far from The Pillars, but the lesson is close to home. Plastic dropped on a beach does not disappear when the visitor leaves. It remains even when unseen, then breaks down, washes into the water and the sand, and becomes part of the shore we all share.
