South Australia Paving the Way to Reduce Plastic Pollution

The Collapse of Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations and What It Means
Australia along with more than 175 countries, attempted to finalise a legally-binding global plastics treaty in Geneva. With the recent collapse of treaty negotiations leading to no consensus, concerns grow as plastic production and consumption is set to triple globally by 2060.

After two weeks of trying to come to a decision with the expectations to create a global regulation, those in attendance are still willing to align their goals. Dr Nina Wootton, Environment Institute member says this is a missed opportunity to tackle the crisis at its core.

“After nearly three years, nations have walked away without agreement, with powerful plastic-producing countries, including the US, blocking caps on virgin plastic production and bans on harmful chemicals. The science is clear: recycling alone will not solve this problem. Plastic production is projected to triple by 2060, while microplastics and associated chemicals are already found in our oceans, wildlife and human bodies.”

Australia’s Determination to End Plastic Pollution by 2040
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt said, "We are determined to push for an effective and meaningful global treaty to achieve our goal of ending plastic pollution by 2040,".

Dr Wootton expressed that the negotiations are a “critical step toward preserving the world's ocean and environment for future generations” and strongly believes in global action to be taken.

“Vulnerable, remote communities, often with limited waste management infrastructure, will continue to bear the brunt of this pollution. Australia remains committed to ending plastic waste by 2040, but without collective ambition and action from the biggest, wealthiest nations, that goal becomes harder to reach. This was our chance for transformative change — and we let it slip away.”

How South Australia is Leading the Fight Against Single-Use Plastics
South Australia have now become the first place in the world to ban single use plastic soy containers, with other Australian states considering the proposal. Other banned items include plastic bags, straws, cutlery, stirrers, cups, bowls, plates, just to name a few.

Speaking with ABC Radio, Dr Wotton said South Australia have been progressive with their bans. “We've been banning things for about the last five years, South Australia started off with plastic straws and cutlery and those drinks, syrups, and then we've been doing produce bags and coffee cups.”

“There's been a whole list of things that we've been banning kind of in sections and today is the soy sauce containers, which I'm very happy about,” expressed Dr Wootton

Environmental Minister and Deputy Premier Susan Close has said that the use of the soy containers were high, "Each fish-shaped container is used for just seconds yet remains in the environment for decades or centuries if littered," she said.

"In kerbside recycling, they're too small to be captured by sorting machinery and often end up in landfill or as fugitive plastic in the environment.”

The Environmental Impact of Convenience Packaging
If the containers are littered they can break into microplastics, remain in which soils, waterways, and oceans, explains Premier Close. The plastic of the soy sauce containers is very thick, delaying their degradation process.

Dr Wootton says if the plastic is yet to reduce to microplastics, “other organisms that eat fish that size could think it is a fish and then eat it,” as she describes.

Dr Wootton says they’re a problem, particularly if they’re used in coastal areas, “when people are near coastal environments and they're getting sushi for takeaway, it's a really easy thing for it to fly out of the bin. I do find them in beach cleans, they're definitely ending up in the marine environment.”

The containers are a “convenience packaging” describes Premier Susan Close, and can be replaced with other sustainable options. Plastic sachets will be allowed; however the government hopes that businesses will use bulk containers or dispensers, with only pre-filled soy sauce containers featuring a lid or cap containing under 30ml of soy sauce being banned.  

For medical items, Dr Wootton explained that plastic remains essential in the industry because products must be clean and sterile. However, when it comes to items like soy sauce containers, she says, “we just don’t need them.”

This ban is a step forward in the right direction in reducing the plastic usage, and experts like Dr Wooton are “pleased to see them gone”. She hopes other states campaign for the ban and that it can be implemented nation-wide.

Dr Wootton was featured in Sustainability Matters, The Guardian, AI Magazine, Channel 9 News Online, ABC Radio Melbourne Drive show. , MSN