Cigarette butts and single-use plastics remain the biggest polluters in our waterways, with up to 1000 pieces of debris occupying each kilometre of Australian coastline, according to statistics from the Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database.

The first of its kind in Australia, the database has recorded information about more than 10 million pieces of debris collected from national waterways over eight years, with more than 100,000 contributing volunteers.

Run by the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, the database relies on "passionate" individuals, community groups and government agencies recording the types and amounts of litter found in their ongoing clean-ups.

Rubbish left at Bondi Beach attracts the interests of a large group of seagulls. Credit:Janie Barrett

Yet for Heidi Taylor, managing director of the foundation, the most worrying trend is that more than three-quarters of the recorded debris is plastic.