Meeting papers

 15.6. Better support and collaborate with the              Environmental         Medium
 community to prevent and respond to future local           Services
 marine debris events.                                      Infrastructure
                                                            Services

 Measure                                                    Responsibility        Timeline
 Emergency beach access improved                            Environmental         Four years
                                                            Services
                                                            Infrastructure
                                                            Services




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 natural disaster dashboards and community coordination by
Council, and better recognition of marine debris as a pollution incident to facilitate more pollution
response support from the State Government.




Eastern Beaches Foreshore Reserves Management Plan 2023                                        Page 64

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