Single-use plastics as the primary source of plastic pollution on a remote island in Western Australia

Consumer products often use multiple layers of protective, single-use packaging. These items generate a rapidly expanding volume of waste as they are typically disposed of after a brief, one-time use. Once in landfill or the environment, SUPs can persist for centuries. In remote areas, this debris is difficult and costly to remove, and monitoring is essential to understanding the scale of the issue. Using long-term monitoring transects established on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the remote Indian Ocean, we estimate the proportion of beach debris that is comprised of SUPs during 2024–2026. Brand and barcode data, combined with surveys of staff from the local shops, were used to identify whether the SUPs originated locally on the islands or washed in from afar. In total, SUPs accounted for 42.3% of all debris recorded in transects, with plastic straws and lids accounting for 59.4% of the SUPs collected. Only one brand was available for sale locally on the islands; the remaining 98.4% of items likely originated offshore. This project highlights the critical role of community science in generating robust datasets, especially in remote areas, and demonstrates the urgent need for SUP, and broader waste reduction policy, at an international scale.