Mysterious Balls on Sydney Beaches Were Actually a Mix of Faeces and Drugs

After first thought to be made of oil from a spill, the mysterious ’tar balls’ which washed up on Sydney’s beaches in mid-October were actually something worse.

A close-up of one of the black balls which washed up on Sydney beaches in October 2024. (Jon Beves/CC BY 4.0).

What were initially thought to be tar balls from an oil spill, which washed up on Sydney beaches in October, have subsequently been found to be a noxious mixture of human faeces, methamphetamine, and PFASs (“forever chemicals”). A detailed composition analysis suggests they may have broken off a giant “fatberg” out at sea before washing ashore.

Reports of the phenomenon first started appearing on Oct. 16, when lifeguards on Coogee beach reported numerous black spheres on the sand that appeared to be tar.