Plastics are the most common litter item found in Australia. It is estimated that poorly discarded plastic and fishing waste kills up to 1 million sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals and countless fish each year. Most fishing waste persists indefinitely in the marine environment, continuing to threaten wildlife long after it is discarded. Seal the Loop campaign encourages visitors to discard used plastics within recycling bins at Melbourne Zoo. The plastics are then turned into Seal the Loop bins and installed in selected fishing locations throughout Victorian coasts making it easy for anglers to safely discard fishing line. More than 70 Seal the Loop bins have now been distributed since November 2010. The Seal the Loop program aims to: reduce marine wildlife entanglement rates through facilitating the safe disposal of fishing waste, raise awareness of the threats that plastics and fishing waste pose to marine wildlife, and encourage onsite recycling, consequently reducing the amount of waste generated at Melbourne Zoo.

Organisation	Zoos Victoria
Contact	Ben Sanders, Community Conservation Officer, Zoos Victoria. Ph: (03) 9340 2744. Mob: 0427 130 304. E:[email protected]
Funding Body	Victorian Recreational Fishing Grants Program