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The amount of plastic pollution on Australia’s coast has dropped by up to 30% on average as a result of work by local governments to reduce litter, says Australia’s science agency. Scientists from CSIRO surveyed 183 coastal sites in six Australian states for plastic and other litter in 2018-19, and compared the results with 32 locations studied in 2012-13. Actions that encouraged environmental stewardship of coastal areas or that used economic measures such as container deposit schemes and reliable curbside collection had the greatest impact in changing behaviors, although surveillance cameras or signs also had an effect. "I guess the simple way of saying it is money talks," says CSIRO researcher Denise Hardesty. "By having some of those resources and infrastructure in place it makes it easy for people to do the right thing."
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