Environmental probe launched after ‘tar balls’ wash up on Sydney beach months after similar incident

Mysterious ball-shaped objects and other debris have washed ashore at a Sydney beach almost two months after a similar incident in the city’s east sparked confusion.

The NSW Environment Protection Agency (EPA) said it was alerted by a member of the public to the bizarre objects at the eastern end of Silver Beach at Kurnell on December 3.

The Sutherland Shire Council immediately placed warning signs along affected sections of the beach advising of the contamination and is handling the clean-up operation.

Officers attached to the EPA, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Sutherland Shire Council inspected nearby beaches but did not find any further debris.

The EPA said the balls varied in size, shape, and colour – including white, green, grey, and black – with some rounded and golf ball size, while others were irregular.

The objects were collected by the environmental watchdog for analysis and will be tested and compared with others found in Sydney over the past two months.

The EPA said the suspected contamination was much smaller in size then an earlier incident in Sydney’s eastern suburbs in October, with fewer balls over a smaller area.

Mysterious balls first appeared at Coogee Beach before further sightings at Bondi, Bronte, Tamarama, Maroubra, Little Bay, Malabar, Frenchmans and Congwong beaches.

The beaches were immediately closed while clean-up got under way, with the EPA determining after final testing their origin is a “likely source that releases mixed waste”.

Experts could not determine exactly where the balls originated from, as no source samples were available for comparison.