'Time is now': Years of data on rubbish unearths staggering finding

Data collected through Beach Patrol Warrnambool's Bottles Overboard Project showed marine debris mostly came from high-sea activities, including fishing and shipping rather than from land as widely believed.

The project focuses on foreign bottles and packaging washing up on south-west Victorian beaches.

In 2024, 435 out of 667 drink bottles collected from local beaches were foreign and not sold in Australia.

About 80 per cent of the 3900 plastic branded items collected by the group across seven years also originated from Asia.

Ahead of World Ocean Day on June 5, group member Colleen Hughson has urged the state government to take action on the issue.

She has called for mandatory garbage disposal fees by integrating garbage disposal costs into port fees and enhanced rubbish receptacle facilities, ensuring ports have adequate infrastructure to handle waste from ships.

"On this World Ocean Day, we urge the government to take immediate and decisive action to address ocean-sourced plastic pollution," she said.

"Our oceans and coastal communities cannot continue to bear the burden of an issue that can and must be resolved through responsible governance and industry accountability.

"The time to act is now."

She said implementing the suggested actions would be "crucial for reducing the amount of litter dumped by merchant ships".

"Government agencies often cite the complexity of policing the shipping industry as a reason for inaction," Ms Hughson said.

"However, the real complexity lies in dealing with the consequences of ocean pollution: plastic breaking up in our oceans, killing marine life, and contaminating the ecosystem.

"It is far more manageable to enforce proper waste disposal protocols for a single industry than to handle the widespread environmental damage it causes."