365 days: For the love of our Bay

Ross and Ramona love our Bay and would love to see the day it was free of plastic pollution.  These local researchers wanted to find out how much plastic pollution comes into the bay each year. So every morning for 365 days they have undertaken a tidal line survey of 35 metres of beach at Port Melbourne collecting and recording the plastic rubbish that washed out of the Bay and then applying a model for the entire 260kms of the tidal line of the bay.
This is what they found:
The model is estimating a staggering 374,189,513 pieces of plastic wash out of the Bay  every year with plastic wrappers and small pieces of plastic film  making up the most common forms of plastic pollution. We all need to take action to reverse this trend.
 What can you do to help:

• Stop using plastic bags, (use reusable bags),
• Stop using plastic straws, use paper straws or forego a straw,
• Stop using disposable coffee cups with the plastic lids, use a Keep cup.
• Please don’t let any helium balloons loose anywhere in the outdoors.  They all come down and are very dangerous to wildlife.

  Ross and Ramona are members of BeachPatrol and key partners in the Creatures of the Bay project  that brings together residents, local schools, community groups and organisations to take action to reduce the impact of  plastic litter on local bay environment and wildlife in Port Melbourne through the creation of art made from plastic litter, awareness raising and community education.