2023-04-20
The Greens are calling for the Albanese Government to immediately mandate waste reduction targets following a report out today revealing Australia will miss its 2025 National Packaging Targets.
Australia set a national target to recover 70% of plastic packaging by 2025, but a review by the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation shows just 18% of plastic packaging was recycled or composted in the 2020-21 financial year.
The review confesses governments will need to pursue harder regulation if plastic producers cannot do better under the current voluntary system of waste reduction. Yet after decades of big plastic producers failing to clean up after themselves, why wait?
Comments attributable to Greens spokesperson for waste and recycling, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson:
“The idea that Australia could reach its 2025 National Packaging Targets under a system that hinges on weak, consumer-obligated, voluntary targets has always been a complete farce.
“It is mind-blowing that the government is still kicking this can down the road. Big producers of plastic have been operating with impunity, free from any serious penalties or regulation.
“Voluntary approaches to waste reduction do not work - it’s that simple. Big companies will never care about the planet as much as their profits, which means mandating waste reduction targets is the only way to get them to take the matter seriously.
“Plastic production makes up 45% of the petrochemical sector, which is projected to account for over a third of growth in oil demand by 2030, and remain one of the biggest drivers of oil extraction over coming decades.
“Multinational oil and gas corporations are eyeing a rapid expansion in the production of plastics to generate demand for fossil fuels in a decarbonising world. If we end plastic, we can end fossil fuels.
“It is absurd that our waste reduction targets are not legally binding given what we know about the dangers of plastic pollution. To stop the insidious scourge of plastic from intruding into our lives and the environment, the Albanese Government must mandate our nation’s waste reduction targets.”