CANBERRA, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Plastic waste littering Australia's coastlines has declined by 39 percent over the past decade, according to a new study by the country's national science agency on Thursday.

Researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) surveyed inland, riverine, and coastal habitats across six metropolitan regions and found a 16-percent increase in plastic-free areas, highlighting progress in tackling pollution.

Despite this improvement, polystyrene and cigarette butts have remained the most common littered items, which were 24 percent and 20 percent, respectively, followed by food wrappers, bottle lids and caps, and plastic fragments, said the study published in Marine Pollution Bulletin.

While three-quarters of beach litter is plastic, flexible plastics like food packaging pose the greatest threat to wildlife, said Denise Hardesty, senior research scientist at CSIRO and the study's co-author.

In some regions like Newcastle, Perth, and the Sunshine Coast, plastic pollution has decreased. However, Hobart in Tasmania and Port Augusta in South Australia saw increases, Hardesty said.

The study recorded 8,383 debris items across 1,907 surveys, revealing that areas with high land-use intensity and socio-economic disadvantages had more litter, said Steph Brodie, CSIRO research scientist and co-author.

"Understanding the types and amount of plastic pollution in our environment provides critical data to develop strategies to stop it ending up there in the first place," said Brodie, adding understanding pollution hotspots is crucial for developing effective waste management strategies.

The study builds on previous research that reported a 29-percent national reduction in plastic waste, and is part of CSIRO's goal of reducing plastic waste entering the environment by 80 percent by 2030. Enditem

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