- AMCS Plastics Campaign Manager Cip Hamilton is attending final round treaty negotiations in Busan, South Korea, from 25 November to 1 December
- Also attending are a group of Dhimurru Rangers, whose Arnhem Land coast is copping the brunt of seaborne plastic waste
- Nearly 100 nations, including Australia, call for global targets to reduce production of plastics yet low-ambition countries continue to stall progress
A global plastics treaty is our best opportunity to address the plastic pollution crisis, but only if it cuts plastic production, the Australian Marine Conservation Society and Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation said on the final days of the fifth and final round of negotiations in South Korea to develop a treaty.
AMCS Plastics Campaign Manager Cip Hamilton is attending the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5), where nations are working on an international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. Global plastic production has soared from 2 million tonnes in 1950 to 348 million tonnes in 2017, and is expected to double by 2040 if nothing is done.
Also attending are a group of Dhimurru Rangers, whose Arnhem Land coast is copping the brunt of seaborne plastic waste. They have collected 10 tonnes of plastic in one cleanup of just 5 km of coast – the equivalent of 60 two-litre plastic milk bottles every metre.
There are just three days left of treaty negotiations. Whilst calls to cut plastic production are increasing, low-ambition nations continue to stall proceedings and push for a weak treaty by consensus.
Yolngu Traditional Owner and Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation Chair Mayatili Marika said: “Australian Indigenous peoples have been connected to the land and sea since time immemorial. The Earth is our Mother but the water is the giver of life. It is deep within our DNA and exists within everything.
“Our ecosystem is fragile and so precious but more and more we are seeing not just in our Country, but all over the planet that plastics are choking the very lifeforce out of us all.
“Plastic pollution is a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional problem that must be tackled by all sectors. Understanding the lifecycle of plastics production is an important way to begin this almost insurmountable task.
“There are three tiers to the problems and the solution – industry, governments and people. All three sectors and tiers need to be working together to find tangible solutions. It is our great hope that a UN Global Plastics Treaty will put in place the legally binding laws, obligations and rights to tackle the full lifecycle of plastics to and for the benefit of all humankind to save our planet.”
AMCS Plastics Campaign Manager Cip Hamilton said: “We’re in the final days of treaty talks. The pressure is high, as is critical that we land an ambitious plastics treaty in Busan that stops plastic pollution at the source and covers the full lifecycle of plastics.
“With just three days left in the treaty negotiations, almost 100 nations, including Australia, have supported a proposal for a global plastic production target. Unfortunately, low ambition nations are standing in the way of this essential progress.
“Our lives are wrapped in plastic. It’s in the food we eat, what we drink and the clothes we wear – and global packaging corporations are making it impossible to avoid needless plastics.
“Research shows that as plastic production increases, so does plastic pollution. Recycling just can’t keep up with the amount of plastic waste we produce. It’s a global environmental crisis, which is why it’s imperative that the final round of talks can negotiate a global agreement to cut plastic use and pollution, and take a full lifecycle approach to the problem.
“Plastic is polluting our oceans and waterways, killing marine life and even impacting human health. An estimated 11 million tonnes of plastic waste enters our oceans every year, and that figure is expected to triple by 2040 if we do not take action.”
Dhimurru Ranger Coordinator, Kim Wunungurra said: “The main issue with plastic is that it damages the environment – the coast and our reef. It affects the people. Turtles and dugongs are two of the elements in the Songlines that we sing and dance to. They connect us to the land and sea. And to each other. I have seen plastics in the northeast Arnhem Land ocean since the 1990s, but it is getting worse and worse, and it is all over the coast.
“We need to stop the plastic and the ghost nets. We need to come together as a world, and an ambitious Global Plastics Treaty will help guide us.”
Dhimurru Ranger RakRak Marika said: “A Global Plastics Treaty is important because plastics are killing our turtles, dugongs and marine life, caught in the ghost fishing nets.
“Because we live on the coast, our people love going out on the sea for hunting and when they catch marine life we see plastics in the fish, turtles and dugongs.
“We see plastics along the shore and most of them are stuck in the rocks, reefs and mangroves.
“Plastic is a biosecurity threat as it crosses the ocean, bringing with it disease and fungus from overseas that kills our native plants.
“We want to see an end to plastic pollution. An ambitious treaty is urgent to help stop plastic pollution coming into our coasts and waterways.”