Today in NSW a law has kicked in banning the use of some single-use plastics, and about time too, NSW is the last of Australia’s states and territories to do so (remember the old car registration plates - NSW The Premier State, yeah, now I know why we don’t see them anymore). Now obviously the ‘some’ means the law does not go far enough and that means there are loopholes. And the plastic bag is a perfect example of the sometimes ineffectual laws we are beholden to, the old grey or white thin ones we used to get at the supermarket (that are banned from today) were replaced by thicker ones that aren’t being banned. How do you think that conversation went down? “Let’s ban plastic bags, but not really ban them, let’s just get rid of the thins ones and replace them with thick ones that take even longer to break down”. And those ones available in the fruit in veg section? Yep, still in use. Seriously, sometimes I think our politicians think we are idiots.
In 2021 a survey was conducted of over 20 000 people across 28 countries and it found an average of almost 9 out of 10 people believe it is important to have a global treaty to combat plastic pollution. So in March this year the United Nations Environment Assembly agreed to create a global treaty with the goal of ending plastic pollution. This means the whole life cycle of plastic will be addressed, from it’s manufacture to transport, consumption and disposal. But this treaty is not expected to be ready for ratification by the UN until 2024. And then the actual work will begin, it won’t all happen overnight so initiatives such as the flimsy one coming into force today are still required (and can we have some more please?).
I’ll be starting a series of posts on my much neglected blog about sustainability and the steps we can take to help achieve it because it’s a passion of mine. I started my Diploma of Sustainable Living with the intent of using it for my own knowledge but by the end of it I realised I have an obligation to share what I learned with everyone. It will contain a bit of information on lots of different topics and more importantly some actions we can take to make life a little more sustainable on this magnificent planet of ours. I hope you’ll join me.
x
No Comments Yet, Leave Yours!