Tackling the marine pollution pandemic

[Image appears of Denise Hardesty talking to the camera and text appears: Denise Hardesty, Team Leader, CSIRO Marine Debris Team]

Denise Hardesty: The world is facing an ocean and coastal pollution pandemic. 

[Images flash through of dead seabirds on sand dunes and then the image changes to show gloved hands dissecting a dead seabird to remove plastic from the gut]

Our Team’s research found that about half of seabird species across the globe have eaten plastic.

[Image changes to show Denise Hardesty talking to the camera]

This will likely increase to 99% of all seabird species by 2050.

[Images flash through of two males leaning over the side of a boat with a net, a boat on the sea, school students looking at collected rubbish in bags and then the camera zooms in on the rubbish in a bag]

We’ve collected data from hundreds of sites on land and at sea around Australia. 

[Image changes to show people walking along the sea shore collecting rubbish]

Our data shows that the plastic in our oceans and on our shores comes from us.

[Image changes to show Denise Hardesty talking to the camera and then the images flash through of a school class sitting on the floor listening to a male teacher and then the image changes to show students at their desks listening to a female]

This means with legislation and behavioural change we can significantly reduce the amount of litter that enters our seas. 

[Image changes to show a female talking to a group of adults who are sitting and listening and then the camera pans over the people listening and then the image changes to show the female talking]

Our science is being used to inform policy consumer choices locally and at the global scale.

[CSIRO logo and text appears: Big ideas start here]