February 2023 - Tangaroa Blue Foundation

Rig Recycle Seeks to Reel In Victoria Fishing Litter

Victorian fishers can now recycle their unwanted and broken fishing tackle. Tangaroa Blue’s Rig Recycle Program collects fishing line, reels, sinkers, spools and spool packaging so it can be repaired, reused and recycled. The program is supported by Sustainability Victoria’s Circular Economy Fund and will see 60 recycling bins deployed at key locations across the state. The Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database shows fishing litter is one of the top 10 items recovered during community clean-ups.

23 February 2023

Ditch the Flick comes to the City of Wyndham

Tangaroa Blue Foundation is joining forces with the City of Wyndham to launch this campaign which aims to encourage behavioural change in cigarette butt disposal amongst the local smoking population. Litter data collected from 23 stormwater drains across the City of Wyndham during the Let’s Strain the Drain Project was recorded in the Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) Database. The data identified cigarette butts as a main litter source and provided evidence for a source reduction plan. Given

22 February 2023

Data from Let’s Strain the Drains project used in Scientific Paper

In October 2019, we completed our first round of audits to show the types of litter entering stormwater drains and ultimately Port Phillip Bay from 4 different land use types (shopping centres, industrial areas, CBD areas and transport hubs). Little did we know, that right in the middle of our 8 audits the COVID pandemic would hit and provide us with the unique opportunity to assess the impact of lockdowns on the environment. The Let’s Strain the Drains project was

10 February 2023

The Dangers of Playground Rubber Surfaces

The momentum is building with another council agreeing with our rubber crumb assessment report that recycling tyres into soft fall rubber crumb is not fit-for-purpose for children’s play areas. ABC News has written a great article talking about these dangers. You can read the full article here This comes on the back of the release of the Tangaroa Blue Rubber Impact Report 2021 and the ReefClean AUSMAP Rubber Crumb Loss Report 2021 which highlighted the extent of rubber crumb loss

6 February 2023

Ocean Plastic Products – Credible or greenwashing? Watch the Q&A Panel Discussion

Over the last few years, a variety of products claiming to be made of “ocean plastic” or “ocean bound plastic” or “potential ocean bound plastic” have started to appear on supermarket shelves and online stores. The messaging appears to claim that we’ve solved the plastic marine pollution issue, including what to do with plastics recovered from our oceans. But misleading labelling on some products and marketing campaigns is causing consumer confusion. This Q&A panel discussion unpacks the myths, truths and

3 February 2023

Tangle Bins installed throughout Sydney

Tangle Bins have been installed in NSW as part of our ‘Look After Your Tackle’ Source Reduction Plan (SRP) which aims to help educate recreational fishers about the scale and impact of fishing litter in our waterways. A huge shoutout must go to Pablo Bolomey from Underwater Research Group of NSW who has helped get 6 of these bins installed around Sydney. These bins are being serviced weekly by some amazing volunteers and aim to prevent fishing lines, lures, hooks,

1 February 2023