Australian Marine Debris Initiative

by Tangaroa Blue Foundation

(NGO)

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Tangaroa Blue Foundation is an Australian-wide not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the removal and prevention of marine debris.

Project implemented: June 2004

Project goal

To inspire and catalyse action and empower others to remove and prevent waste from entering the marine environment.

delivering on

why is this project important?

The AMDI provides a scale-able, collaborative framework to address marine debris impacting Australia from both domestic and international sources

Key steps to make it happen

1Community clean-up effort

Clean-ups are conducted by community members and partner organisations and data submitted into the AMDI Database

2Data analysis

The AMDI Database is analysed to identify and monitor marine debris items impacting specific sites

3Stakeholder engagement

Tracking the marine debris items back to the source enables the engagement of relevant stakeholders for source reduction

4Source Reduction Plans

The creation and implementation of multi-partner Source Reduction Plans that aim to stop marine debris items at the source

5Monitoring

Ongoing clean-ups provide an opportunity to monitor the impact of implemented Source Reduction Plans

6Education and awareness

Linking community, industry and government partners collaboratively in the AMDI allows consistent and accurate messaging

impact to date

89%
Source Reduction Plan - reduction in weather balloon components found during clean-ups between 2011 and 2017
18%
Source Reduction Plan - reduction in plastic strapping bands found during clean-ups in Western Australia between 2007 and 2017

52% increase in number of items removed between October 2015 and April 2018 – this relates to increase participation in the AMDI

Tangaroa Blue Foundation created and coordinates the Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI), an on-ground network of volunteers, communities, organisations and partners that contribute data from rubbish collected during beach, ocean and river clean-up events to the AMDI Database. If all we do is clean-up, then that’s all we’ll ever do. The AMDI Database is used to identify what marine debris items are impacting a specific site so that relevant stakeholders can be engaged to work on solutions to stop the flow of litter and waste at the source. The AMDI helps communities look after their coastal environment by providing resources and support programs and collaborates with industry and government to create change on a large scale.

collaborating organisations

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