How many people today grab a takeaway coffee cup from the local cafe to drink on the go? We don’t know, but the number must be enormous.. Most every one of the above have a plastic top that will last 100s of years. Some cafes still use plastic cups that last a similar time. Is 10 minutes of coffee worth 100s of years of trash?
These items can be seen littering our gutters and on our streets all over the place. If they were all cardboard, they would still be littered, but they would, at least, be gone in a short time.
They do not need to be made of plastic.
On the way home from the gym last week, a distance of about 1 km (1/2 mile), I counted the items of plastic litter on the curb as I walked. In that short distance I counted 63 pieces of plastic litter. Plastic drink bottles, bottle tops, candy wrappers, plastic film, polystyrene fragments etc. That seemed to be a lot to me. I guess it is a generational thing. Our parents would have been horrified to see that amount, whereas it seems to go unnoticed by our youth of today. In another 20 years how many pieces will there be on this stretch, -- 200? What will today’s youth think of that new amount then when they are older? Will their children be so readily accepting of a higher amount of litter? AFGC backs national Plastics Plan – Australia
Posted on March 9, 2021 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsThe Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) is backing the Australian Government on the delivery of a National Plastics Plan that will drive improved environmental outcomes and support greater recovery and recycling of plastics.
Released today, the National Plastics Plan importantly recognises the role that all parties need to play in eliminating plastics from the environment and increasing their circularity in the economy.
The AFGC is 100 per cent behind this announcement and congratulates the government on making it a whole of supply chain problem to solve – no one part of the chain is responsible or can solve it alone, said CEO, Tanya Barden.
“Increasing recycling rates requires actions from all sectors of the supply chain, from the way plastic is manufactured, how products are designed and labelled, to community choosing to recycle and government and industry co-investing in recycling and manufacturing plant and equipment. National plans are required to develop a circular economy moving from a linear economy to a re-manufacturing model where recycled material meets the quality specifications of end markets.
“Food and grocery manufacturers are playing their part in a number of ways. They are currently reviewing their packaging and making changes to ensure it is 100 per cent re-usable, recyclable or compostable, contains more recycled content, and importantly remains safe for consumers. As these packaging changes occur, consumers will also see a greater roll out of the Australasian Recyclability Label to help inform them of which bin to put their packaging in,” said Barden.
The AFGC, and food and grocery manufacturers, are part of the National Plastics Recycling Scheme, which has been created to increase recycling rates for soft plastics such as bread bags, frozen vegetable bags, confectionery wrappers, and to close the loop on this material by developing end markets, including making its way back into packaging.
“As outlined in the AFGC’s 2020-2021 Pre-Budget submission, the AFGC calls for the Federal Government to implement a co-investment grants program to support food, beverage and grocery manufacturers as they innovate their packaging to deliver the Government’s sustainable packaging targets. Meeting these targets requires significant research and development and considerable capital investment to upgrade manufacturing plant and equipment,” Ms Barden said.
If these companies had been responsible in the first place the would not need all this money to now fix their plants to do the right thing.
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