Marine debris consists of any piece of rubbish thrown, blown or dumped into the ocean. Items of rubbish dropped on streets and parks many kilometres from the shore will end up the ocean by moving down stormwater drains into creeks, streams and rivers.

Globally 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles, and 1 million sea birds die every year from ingesting or becoming entangled in marine debris.

Plastics are the worst offenders. Due to the long periods of time required to break down, (plastics never decompose, they just break down into smaller pieces that are more easily mistaken for food) plastics become serial killers, killing many animals over many hundreds of years.

Plastic bags kill many sea turtles who mistake their pale colours and gently undulating form for the jellyfish that they feed on. Once ingested plastics can choke the animal or, if it blocks the stomach, cause it to starve to death.

A look at the numbers reveals the extent of the problem. Australians use almost 4 billion plastic shopping bags – and drop 50 million of them as litter – every year. Additionally 1000s more are blown from landfill sites into waterways and the ocean.

Sea Turtle Foundation is calling for a ban on free plastic bags, read more here.

Hatchlings have been found with small pieces of polystyrene in their stomachs, having mistaken them for food. Sea turtles also become entangled in larger discarded items such as tyres and plastic containers.