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Marine Debris no good for the Sea : (

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Tim Reilly

Today we headed out to give the rangers a hand with an ongoing problem some eastern facing beaches face in Arnhem Land. Every "Dry Season" the south-easterly wind drags tonnes of rubbish mostly from Indonesia. The main items we found were: plastic bottles, thongs, tooth brushes, cigarette lighters and large fishing nets (known as ghost nets). It is crazy to see how much rubbish washes up on a little beach and scary to think how much is still out there floating around the ocean, being eaten by various sea creatures.

Something needs to be done with the laws or regulations in Indonesia about use of plastics. We have seen some European countries in the last year ban single use plastic products entirely. A number of states in Australia have banned plastic shopping bags but after driving through the remote beaches of Groote Eylandt it is clear whats happening isn't enough.

So the question is: what can you and your school do to play your part in keeping our oceans plastic free?
What can Australia do as a whole country to slow down its need for plastic, and how can we help other less fortunate countries like Indonesia to stop polluting our oceans.....

And you wouldn't believe it, we found a message written in washed up throngs written by some very upset mermaids ...... "What's thongs with you?"