A ‘Don’t be a Tosser!’ pop-up event at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo is bringing to life the devastating impact of litter on our wildlife and waterways, to highlight the need to reduce our use of plastics and dispose of them properly.

Over three days, the Zoo is teaming up with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to host giant sculptures of commonly littered items such as food packaging, plastic water bottles and coffee cups. They stand next to statues of some of our most beloved marine animals including pelicans and fish, to educate Zoo visitors about the deadly impact of litter.

Taronga Zoo staff are explaining how litter directly harms marine life. Globally, nearly all seabird species and half of all sea turtles are estimated to have ingested plastic by mistaking it for food, leading to significant health problems.

Zoo visitors are using interactive digital screens to explore the lifespan of commonly littered items. A coffee cup littered today will start to break down after 31 years, and a chip packet after 37 years.

The ‘Don’t be a Tosser!’ event is available to all Taronga Zoo ticket holders during their visit.

Today, the Minns Labor Government is also announcing $5 million to tackle marine litter through the ‘Streets to Sea’ grants program. The funding will help councils and public land managers prevent litter from entering waterways.

NSW generates more than 891,000 tonnes of plastic waste each year, with only 14 per cent being recycled. The remaining 86 per cent ends up in landfill or the environment where it travels into waterways.

Recycling plastic waste is not only good for the environment, but it also helps NSW tackle a looming waste crisis: Greater Sydney is on track to run out of landfill space by 2030.

The NSW Government is taking a range of action to turn that projection around, including the phase-out of unnecessary single-use plastic items. A ban on integrated plastic items in food and drink packaging came into effect this month.

Learn more here.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Trish Doyle: “For every piece of litter on land in NSW, nine times more can be found in our waterways. And plastic waste doesn’t just disappear – it breaks up into microplastics that infiltrate waterways, threatening our environment and wildlife. Unless we take urgent action, by 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

“This event at Taronga reminds us all – Don’t be a Tosser! It illustrates just how harmful litter such as plastic bottles and coffee cups can be to our marine wildlife.

“NSW is leading the fight against plastic pollution. We’ve just banned several problematic and unnecessary single-use plastics like juice box straws, and we’re working with communities, businesses and industry to consider future plastic phase outs and changes to design standards.”

Taronga Conservation Society Community Conservation Senior Officer Nicole Whitfield said: “Rubbish often finds its way into our bushland, creeks and oceans where it can linger for centuries. A plastic bottle discarded in seconds can take up to 400 years to break down.

“When you’re out and about, always remember to take your rubbish with you and dispose of it responsibly—it only takes one piece of plastic to harm a turtle’s life.”