Sydney’s archaic sewerage system a ‘significant’ source of microplastic pollution into the sea

Swimmers at Bondi Beach. The CSIRO report notes ‘increasing evidence’ that the ingestion of microplastics could cause ‘physical damage’ to marine life off Sydney. Photograph: Mridula Amin/The Guardian

It is not just human waste that is being pumped into the ocean off Sydney’s popular beaches due to the city’s unusual and archaic sewerage system – government scientists have confirmed billions of microplastics are also polluting the water.

A CSIRO report, released in 2020 but not reported on until now, found the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) at Malabar discharged an estimated 5.4bn to 120bn microplastic particles into the ocean each day.