Meeting papers

February 2022 floods – grounded pontoons

During the February 2022 Queensland floods, an estimated 18 pontoons and docks washed out of
Brisbane River and grounded on Noosa’s beaches. Polystyrene is used as flotation in pontoons,
and as the outer pontoon layers broke down it was exposed to natural elements and crumbled into
small pieces that were readily spread by wind and waves. The large pieces of pontoon were
removed with large machinery. Smaller pontoon and polystyrene pieces were removed by
community individuals and groups, Council officers and contractors by hand, vacuum and beach
cleaner, but individual beads scattered and buried into the sand remained. This pollution can have
a devastating effect on wildlife, including sea turtles, Several months later, small beads scattered
in very isolated pockets remain in the dunes and on tide lines and are likely to continue to be
exposed by wind and wave action, particularly during storms. Council and community members
continue to monitor and do further cleanup as required.

A polystyrene round table held in July 2022 brought State, local government and community
stakeholders together to review what happened during the pontoon beaching and cleanup from
various perspectives. Recommendations were developed during the meeting including better
pontoon construction, maintenance and identification standards, more coastal information and
hazard response capability, such as a for natural disaster dashboards and frameworks, better
information distribution and community coordination by Council, and better recognition of marine
debris as a pollution incident. , which may to facilitate more pollution response support from the
State Government,




Eastern Beaches Foreshore Reserves Management Plan 2023                                      Page 73


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