Balls on Sydney’s northern beaches still a ‘bit of a mystery’
3792 Mins Read
Sydney’s beaches have been plagued by mysterious balls for more than three months but the public is no closer to finding out where they came from or why they continue to wash ashore.
Addressing the media on Wednesday afternoon, NSW’s acting premier, Penny Sharpe,said the foul-smelling balls, which temporarily closed nine beaches in the city’s north this week, remained a “bit of a mystery”.
Sharpe confirmed an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigation was ongoing, while the government had also been working with various agencies on whether there had been “pollution events” – none of which had been identified.
This is a phenomenon that’s not being seen anywhere else in the world. There is the testing that has been done, and it’s been very extensive, so we know what the balls are made of but they’re different depending on the beach.
I have full confidence in the EPA doing their work. They’re doing the testing. They’re working with other agencies to try to get to the bottom of it. We don’t have an answer yet, but I’m not going to put the blame at the feet of the EPA here. This is an odd situation that remains a mystery that we’re getting to the bottom of.
Asked if she had a preferred term for the balls, which have been called everything from fatbergs to tar balls, she replied: “I think we’re going with debris balls. That’s where I’m at today.”
