Where rubbish goes

Where will your rubbish go?

Our stormwater system won't catch all the litter¹. Stormwater pipes lead to waterways where litter can pollute the soil, local waterways, or get stuck in animal habitats². Litter travels from a stormwater drain through waterways and into our environment³.

Rain and sunshine break litter into small pieces called microplastics, which last a long time in the environment⁴.

Bushland

Small animals can mistake microplastics for food. Eating plastic can increase an animal’s chance of disease and death, with many suffering for months until they die⁵.

Over time, toxic chemicals leach from microplastics into the environment. This leads to nutrient pollution and changes the soil pH, disrupting the growth of natural habitats⁶.

Many reflective plastic packaging materials absorb the heat of the sun and can even start bushfires⁷.

Creeks

Mangroves rely on their exposed roots for oxygen. Excess litter can smother and deprive the mangrove tree roots of oxygen⁸.

Food scraps and other organic litter items can increase algal blooms in water and reduce the available oxygen for aquatic life and mangroves⁹.

80^%

of ocean plastics come from land

Most creeks carrying litter eventually connect to oceans. These plastics will most likely end up in the ocean for centuries.

Oceans

Marine life can mistake microplastics for food.

It’s likely that any plate of seafood will contain microplastics. Even if you don’t eat seafood, microplastics are also found in drinking water¹⁰.

70^%

of microplastics sink to the sea floor and embed in marine sediments

That means that the bottom of the ocean will be largely composed of plastic.

See how litter moves through Sydney Harbour

In March 2017, the Environment Protection Authority tossed 40 GPS-tracked plastic bottles into harbours, rivers and lakes across NSW to demonstrate how litter travels once it reaches our waterways. This litter prevention project showed the community what happens to litter that is tossed.