Share and Follow
Mysterious grey balls have sparked the closure of beaches along a 13km stretch of coastline.
Swimmers and surfers were urged out of the water on Tuesday afternoon after white-grey, ball-shaped debris was found along Sydney’s northern beaches.
The council said it was alerted to the issue by state environment officials.
“So far, most samples identified are marble-sized with a few larger in size,” a Northern Beaches Council spokesperson said.
Nine beaches from Manly to North Narrabeen were closed.
The discovery comes three months after were closed when 2,000 black tar balls, which were found to be a mix of human hair and household fats washed up over several days.
Samples of the unidentified ball-shaped debris found washed ashore at Manly Beach. Source: AAP / Northern Beaches Council
The source of that pollution was never found.
Some of the debris discovered on Tuesday has been collected for testing while the council will safely remove the rest.
Other beaches, including Collaroy, Fishermans and Narrabeen, are also due to be inspected.
The midsummer surprise comes during the school holidays and the mercury hovering in the high 20s.
The NSW Environment Protection Agency was contacted for comment.
