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Toxic Tide: the Threat of Marine Plastic Pollution in Australia

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Toxic Tide: the Threat of Marine Plastic Pollution in Australia The Senate Environment and Communications References Committee Toxic tide: the threat of marine plastic pollution in Australia April 2016 © Commonwealth of Australia 2016 ISBN 978-1-76010-400-9 Committee contact details PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Tel: 02 6277 3526 Fax: 02 6277 5818 Email: [email protected] Internet: www.aph.gov.au/senate_ec This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License. The details of this licence are available on the Creative Commons website: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/. This document was printed by the Senate Printing Unit, Parliament House, Canberra Committee membership Committee members Senator Anne Urquhart, Chair ALP, TAS Senator Linda Reynolds CSC, Deputy Chair (from 12 October 2015) LP, WA Senator Anne McEwen (from 18 April 2016) ALP, WA Senator Chris Back (from 12 October 2015) LP, WA Senator the Hon Lisa Singh ALP, TAS Senator Larissa Waters AG, QLD Substitute member for this inquiry Senator Peter Whish-Wilson (AG, TAS) for Senator Larissa Waters (AG, QLD) Former members Senator the Hon Anne Ruston, Deputy Chair (to 12 October 2015) LP, SA Senator the Hon James McGrath (to 12 October 2015) LP, QLD Senator Joe Bullock (to 13 April 2016) ALP, WA Committee secretariat Ms Christine McDonald, Committee Secretary Mr Colby Hannan, Principal Research Officer Ms Fattimah Imtoual, Senior Research Officer Ms Kirsty Cattanach, Research Officer iii iv Table of Contents List of recommendations ..................................................................................vii List of abbreviations ....................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................... 1 Conduct of the inquiry ............................................................................................ 1 Acknowledgement .................................................................................................. 1 Structure of the report ............................................................................................. 2 Previous inquiries ................................................................................................... 3 Note on references .................................................................................................. 3 Chapter 2: Overview of marine plastic pollution ............................................ 5 Plastics production .................................................................................................. 6 The magnitude of marine plastic pollution ............................................................. 9 Sources of marine plastic pollution ...................................................................... 14 The products and materials that represent the major sources of marine plastic pollution ........................................................................................ 21 The cost of marine plastic pollution ..................................................................... 28 International initiatives on marine pollution ........................................................ 29 Committee comment ............................................................................................ 32 Chapter 3: The effects of marine plastic pollution ........................................ 33 Effects of plastic pollution on marine fauna ........................................................ 33 Chemical accumulation and plastic-sourced chemicals ....................................... 44 Effects of microplastics ........................................................................................ 46 Impact on fisheries and shipping .......................................................................... 50 Impact of marine plastic on ecosystems ............................................................... 52 Committee view .................................................................................................... 53 iii Chapter 4: Role of the Australian Government in addressing marine plastic pollution .................................................................................... 55 Protection of threatened species and ecosystems ................................................. 55 Need for research-based policy ............................................................................ 62 National marine debris database ........................................................................... 67 National waste policy ........................................................................................... 70 The need for national leadership .......................................................................... 72 Committee view .................................................................................................... 76 Chapter 5: Strategies for the removal of marine plastic pollution .............. 79 Clean-up programs ............................................................................................... 79 Research developments ........................................................................................ 84 Reporting and collection of abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear ............. 85 Committee view .................................................................................................... 91 Chapter 6: Source reduction – consumer behaviour and infrastructure .... 93 Community awareness and education campaigns ................................................ 93 Improvements to infrastructure ............................................................................ 97 Container deposit schemes ................................................................................. 103 Committee view .................................................................................................. 117 Chapter 7: Source reduction – product stewardship and legislative and regulatory frameworks ........................................................................... 119 Product stewardship ............................................................................................ 119 Regulatory and legislative changes .................................................................... 128 Committee view .................................................................................................. 138 Chapter 8: Conclusion and recommendations ............................................. 139 The plastic problem ............................................................................................ 139 The effects of marine plastic pollution ............................................................... 141 The role of the Australian Government .............................................................. 143 iv Collecting and removing marine plastic pollution ............................................. 147 Source reduction – consumer behaviour ............................................................ 149 APPENDIX 1: Submissions, additional information, tabled documents and answers to questions on notice ................................................................. 157 APPENDIX 2: Public hearings ........................................................................ 163 v vi List of recommendations Recommendation 1 8.29 The committee recommends that any future Australian Government policies on mitigating the threat from marine plastic be underpinned by sound, peer-reviewed research. Recommendation 2 8.30 The committee recommends that the Australian Government actively support research into the effects of marine plastic pollution in Australian waters, including research to more fully evaluate: • the extent of marine plastic pollution; • the sources of marine plastic pollution; • the effects at the population level; and • the effects on ecosystems particularly in the Great Barrier Reef. Recommendation 3 8.31 The committee recommends that the Australian Government actively support research into the threat posed by microplastic pollution, including research to: • identify the extent of microplastic pollution; • evaluate the effects of microplastic pollution on marine fauna; • evaluate the effects of microplastic pollution on ecosytems; and • identify mitigation measures. Recommendation 4 8.32 The committee recommends that the Australian Government actively support research into the threat posed by marine plastic pollution, particularly microplastic, on human health. Recommendation 5 8.33 The committee recommends that the Australian Government undertake work to identify and establish the costs of the externalities associated with marine plastic pollution. vii Recommendation 6 8.36 The committee recommends that industry contributes further funding of scientific research through the Australian Packaging Covenant. 8.37 The committee recommends that this funding be provided for research which particularly addresses the effect of marine plastic pollution on marine fauna, and human health from ingestion as well as research to identify mitigation strategies. Recommendation 7 8.40 The committee recommends that the Australian Government consult with stakeholders, including the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, CSIRO and relevant scientists, to explore mechanisms to establish a national marine pollution database. Recommendation 8 8.45 The committee recommends that the Australian Government place marine plastic pollution
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