Facts
Note: The science and research undertaken on the health of our oceans is always growing. The references given below utilise the best information available we have available. We will continually review (and, if appropriate, update) the facts as they become available.
DEGRADATION
Stormwater is the primary driver of the degradation of streams, estuaries and embayments in Australia's cities, and indeed in cities around the world,
Professor Timothy Fletcher cited in “Overview of Stormwater in Australia – Chapter 2” https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Stormwater/~/media/Committees/ec_ctte/Stormwater/c02.pdf
Waterway Ecosystem Research Group, The University of Melbourne, Submission 17, p. 2; cited in “Overview of Stormwater in Australia – Chapter 2” https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Stormwater/~/media/Committees/ec_ctte/Stormwater/c02.pdf
OCEAN
About 8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean annually.
Jambeck, J. R., et al. “Plastic Waste Inputs from Land into the Ocean.” Science, vol. 347, no. 6223, 13 Feb. 2015, pp. 768–771., doi:10.1126/science.1260352.
ONE MINUTE
Every minute the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into our oceans
MORE PLASTIC THAN FISH
If current trends continue, there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish by 2050
WORLDWIDE
73% of beach litter worldwide is plastic
KILLING SEA LIFE
Plastic is killing more than 1.1 million seabirds and animals every year