Single-Use Plastic
Senator VAN (13:42): Our oceans are choking with plastic and other waste, yet conversations within our community are repetitive, and action needs to move at a quicker pace. Single-use plastics are everywhere. Plastic bags carry our groceries and single-use plastic bottles stack our shelves in our supermarkets despite there being clear alternatives like aluminium and glass. From the comfort of our home, images flash on our television screens of marine wildlife washing up having been tangled in or having ingested a single-use plastic item. One of the worst reflections of our global plastics problem has evolved into what has been dubbed the 'great Pacific garbage patch'. This patch covers an area almost the size of Queensland and is filled with waste from all continents. Over half the plastic in the patch comes from land based sources, with much of the worst plastic coming from single-use items such as plastic bags, bottle tops, soft drink bottles and Styrofoam cups.
With statistics and examples becoming better known, it is without a doubt that Australia can play a leadership role in phasing out single-use plastics. Solutions to this problem are available. According to the Australian Aluminium Council, aluminium is 100 per cent recyclable and uses only five per cent of the energy used to create new aluminium. So why not trade in those plastic bottles for aluminium or glass? We need to question our habits and work towards responsible pragmatic actions which will do more to assist in protecting our ocean and marine life. This is not to say that there hasn't been a burgeoning cultural shift over the past few years in the way that Australians view and use single-use plastics. Many of us bring reusable bags to carry our groceries these days or, grudgingly, when we forget, purchase another biodegradable bag at inflated prices.
It's not often that I find myself looking abroad to countries like Antigua, Rwanda or Vanuatu for inspiration, yet their tough approach to tackling single-use plastic is definitely noteworthy. All of these countries have taken the step of banning at least some forms of single-use plastic and imposing strict penalties on producers, importers and retailers who fail to oblige. These countries have seen a dramatic reduction in the amount of plastic waste polluting their urban and marine environments. Vanuatu is a leader in our region when it comes to banning single-use plastic. Last July our Pacific neighbour banned single-use plastic bags, drinking straws and styrofoam food containers, with fines for violations. Whilst it might sound like an inconvenience to our lives of convenience, it is, I believe, a measure that Australians would accept and grow to work around if such a ban was phased in across our nation in a very well-managed way. There will be those who worry about the effect that such an action will have on business. To them, I would argue that there is perhaps no greater driver of innovation than correctly applied pressure and clearly set out deadlines. If the people of Vanuatu can adjust, you have to ask yourself: why can't Australians?
Before such legislation is even to be considered by the Australian parliament, private industry has been playing a role in the reduction of single-use plastic products. Innovative companies from my home state of Victoria, like KeepCup and RETURNR, have effectively developed ways to replace single-use plastic with a reusable solution in the takeaway food industry. They recognise that global sustainability plays an important role in their business, and they walk the talk by having a go as entrepreneurs. This leads to pragmatic, sensible outcomes and not just virtue signalling.
As a pragmatist, I acknowledge that it may not be possible to ban all products that are currently manufactured using single-use plastic. For instance, there are health and safety products where it makes eminent sense to use single-use plastic. Where we are still waiting for technology to catch up, we need to do more to ensure responsible disposal of such products so that we can be certain that they will not end up in our waterways. In 2011 our federal parliament passed the Product Stewardship Act, which provides a structure for whole-of-life management of consumer products and the components contained within them. That bill was an example of true bipartisanship in environmental affairs. It set up a framework which established voluntary, co-regulatory and mandatory product stewardship, which can be characterised as placing responsibility for the effective disposal of products on the producer or importer. Since the enactment of that legislation, no mandatory stewardship programs have been enforced under the scheme. I believe that we should start facilitating dialogue with industry and government to incorporate such mandatory schemes under this existing legislation.
Over the last few months, the Morrison government has made it clear that tackling Australia's waste-management crisis is a priority, and I applaud the Prime Minister for his bold commitment of over $160 million in recycling investment and research funds and for putting pressure on the states to clean up their act when dealing with recyclable waste. The Minister for the Environment has set a realistic target: to have 100 per cent of Australia's packaging be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. Such a target is absolutely a step in the right direction.
With these measures, environment policy can no longer be hijacked by those on the left of centre claiming to be the sole custodians of our environment. The role of states and territories in this fight also does not go unnoticed. I highlight the recent announcement by Premier Steven Marshall in South Australia, who is leading the country by committing to banning plastic straws, cutlery and drink stirrers. In my home state of Victoria, shamefully, the Andrews government is yet to implement a container deposit scheme. It is the only state yet to propose one.
Ultimately, my belief is that the real solution to reducing pollutants more broadly will come when market efficiencies and consumers encourage the producer to innovate and come up with ways to prevent the production of pollutants in the first place. While the push to phase out single-use plastics is a global one, Australia can play a role by confidently setting standards and expectations on limiting one of our major pollutants. If products can reasonably be replaced by current alternatives, we should promote and incentivise the phasing out of single-use plastics. Where this is not immediately possible, mandatory stewardship partnerships should actively drive innovative solutions for the effective disposal of waste whereby producers are working hand-in-hand with business to recycle the leftovers of pollutants after the consumer has used them. It is only in partnership and with a sense of urgency that we can ensure single-use plastics are phased out so that we can ensure a cleaner future for our nation, our children and those to follow.
