Marine Debris Project Final Report 2014

Part VIIISolutions8. OverviewMarine debris is significant global problem that presents a serious threat to the health of the oceans and itsecosystems. It also degrades the aesthetic of the beaches and there is direct evidence that ‘dirty beaches’result in to economic losses in millions of dollars of lost tourism revenue. This is but one potentialmotivation for keeping coastlines free of litter and in some areas it has motivated and increased publicparticipation with clean-up campaigns and governmental involvement.8.1 The effectiveness of Local Waste Management Policies and ActivitiesMost of the litter that ends up in our oceans is produced on land and enters the marine environment fromland-based sources. Hence, waste management practices and litter prevention activities on land may affectthe amounts and types of anthropogenic litter that enter the marine environment. Around Australia, thereare a range of cleanup activities as well as waste management policies and practices. The effectiveness ofvarious outreach and engagement activities and waste management practices and policies differ accordingto the state, the region and the councils. Considering this, our national coastal debris survey has carried outsurveys around the nation to collect data on the types and the density of the anthropogenic litter foundalong Australia’s coastline. Data from these coastal debris surveys have then been compared with localcouncil waste management activities, practices and policies in an effort to begin to understand theeffectiveness of various policies, practices and activities.Although beyond the initial goals and aims of the project we have begun to collect information about thelegislations, policies, plans and actions done to manage and recycle the waste in Australia in coastal regionsaround the country. Ultimately we aim to assess policy effectiveness at a range of: within the nation,between the states and territories, and the regions and with varying council practices. We have carried outsurveys with participants from coastal councils in each state and territory, asking questions about the rangeof the policies and practices in the council regions where these sites were situated We asked questionsregarding to waste management in general and more precisely in the coastal regions for various councils.This information was completed with the help of the council’s websites. Ultimately, to understand how thepolicies, the legislations and the actions influence the density of the marine debris we will analyse the linkbetween the different waste management practices with the geographic and demographic characteristicsof the councils.Hardesty et al. (2014) | 55