After years of greenwashing, the truth has been exposed. The amount of plastic entering our oceans every year is going to TRIPLE by 2040,¹ because big brands like Coca-Cola, Nestle and Unilever aren’t doing enough to cut plastic.²
After a decade of campaigning, Australia’s environment ministers have agreed to reform plastic packaging regulation – recognising voluntary actions have failed.
This is our chance, but it won’t work without a target to cut plastic.
Despite bans on single-use plastics and recycling investment, only 18% of Australia’s plastic packaging is being recycled, because product manufacturers are increasing their use of virgin plastics and plastic packaging.
France has set a goal to reduce single-use plastic packaging by 20% by 2025. If they can do it, so can we!
Australia’s Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has said she wants a “plastic pollution free Pacific” in our lifetimes. It’s time to make that vision a reality.
Will you sign the petition for a National Plastic Reduction Target?
Show/Hide Petition Text
Petition Text
To the Honourable Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives,
In respect to proposed laws regarding the use of packaging in Australia, in response to the Review of the National Environment Protection (Used Packaging Materials) Measure 2011 and the Australian Packaging Covenant, and findings that Australia will be unable to meet recycling targets, we the undersigned call upon the government to implement a national target to reduce plastic packaging 20% by 2030, alongside other measures to restrain the use of unnecessary or hard to recycle packaging.
Australia generates more single-use plastic waste per person than any other country except Singapore, generating an estimated 59kg of plastic waste per person annually – compared with a global average of 15kg per person. Noting that just 18% of plastic packaging is recovered for recycling in Australia, we urge the government to follow the example of countries such as France, who have set a goal to reduce plastic packaging 20% by 2025.
With research showing that global leakage of plastic into the ocean is likely to triple by 2040, urgent action is needed to limit plastic use. Enshrining a plastic reduction target within the law would support Australia’s global commitment to the goal of restraining plastics consumption to sustainable levels, as a member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution.
Sources:
- The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ. (2019). Breaking the Plastic Wave.
- Ellen Macarthur Foundation. (2022). The Global Commitment 2022 Progress Report.