The presence of litter in estuarine, coastal and marine systems detracts from the visual amenity of an area and can harm humans (e.g. broken glass, used needles) or animals (which eat, become entangled in, or are suffocated by, the litter).
View a conceptual model of potential causes of a change to litter and the condition responses observed as a result of this change.
Potential indicators
There are a number of causes and symptoms related to this stressor. The following indicators are recommended for the stressor ‘Litter’:
Pressure indicators
Indicators of litter (rubbish) sources:
- Boating activity within the estuary
- Recreational usage index
- ‘Estuary’ population size
- Percentage of estuary adjoining urban area
- Number of stormwater outflows per km estuary
Indicators of direct pressure:
- None
Vulnerability indicators
- None
Condition indicators
Physical-chemical condition indicators:
- Presence (standing crop) of litter (rubblish)
- Litter (rubblish) accumulation rate
Biological condition indicators:
- None
| Possible causes | Possible symptoms |
| The actions/events/situations that might induce this stress. | The actions/events/situations that might arise from a change to the stressor:
|
Other information on litter
International
Cigarette butt litter – Information about cigarette butt litter worldwide.
Australia
National Litter Index counts are conducted in November and May each year and cover 983 sites across Australia.
New South Wales
New South Wales Litter Report 2004. This report is the first in a series of biennial reports to build a picture of long-term trends in litter composition and littering behaviours through comparable subsequent surveys. This information will provide an indicator of the effectiveness of government, industry and community initiatives to reduce litter.
Queensland
South East Queensland Healthy Waterways was requested by a number of local governments to take a lead role in the development of an integrated South East Queensland approach to litter management.
Tasmania
Waterways monitoring reports from Tasmania’s rivers and streams provide current data on streamflow, water quality and riverine health for 2004. They can be downloaded from this page.
Victoria
Port Phillip Bay Beach Litter surveys are a key component of EPA Victoria’s Beach Report program. This report summarises the results of litter surveys conducted during the 2003-04 Beach Report season.
