Plastic Packaging Petition - 18 November 2024
Australia generates more single-use plastic waste per person than any other country except Singapore. On average we reproduce 59kg of single-use plastic waste per person per year. Compared to the global average of 15kg, most of this comes from packaging. Plastic packaging is the single biggest use of plastic, accounting 36 per cent of plastic worldwide. Nearly all plastic packaging is single-use and hardly any of it is recycled it ends up in landfill. Plastic pollutes our environment and contributes to climate change because it is made from fossil fuels. To reduce plastic packaging pollution, we must reduce the production of plastic packaging. The government is developing new packaging regulations to reduce waste and last month sought feedback on the long-awaited draft options for reform. The regulations will increase recycling and ban harmful chemicals but there is currently no plan to actually reduce fossil fuel plastic packaging. We cannot recycle our way out of plastic pollution. We need to reduce the production of packaging and reuse the packaging that has already been produced. One of my volunteer groups, Curtin Net Zero waste group has been working with me on a petition that asks environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to include measures to reduce plastic packaging use in the new regulations. With 12,539 signatures already, I hope the minister will take note.