Australia takes stand against plastic pollution at UN Ocean Conference

Australia has joined with 96 other nations at the United Nations Ocean Conference in France in committing to a strong global response to end plastic pollution.

Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt declared Australia’s support for the ‘Nice wake up call for an ambitious plastics treaty’ declaration, reaffirming Australia’s commitment to end plastic pollution to protect human health and the environment from its adverse effects.

“Plastic pollution is a major challenge facing our planet, including our oceans, and we are committed to being a full partner in the global fight to solve it,” Minister Watt said.

“In our Pacific region, including on Australia’s coastline and offshore territories, we see the impacts of globally mismanaged plastics which are killing marine life and washing up on shore.

“We need to come together to agree a global treaty that tackles this problem with measures across the full lifecycle of plastics—it’s within our reach and there isn’t a moment to lose.

“With today’s declaration, we witnessed a groundswell of movement with countries focusing on plastic pollution and momentum building to finalise a global treaty to end plastic pollution."

Although many countries, including Australia, have put in place bans on problematic plastics like straws, lightweight plastic bags and single use food containers, globally coordinated approaches will help drive faster progress to reduce plastic pollution.

“In Australia, we’re taking action on plastic pollution through packaging regulatory reform and by increasing our plastic recycling capacity in Australia, including solutions for plastics that are hard to recycle, like soft plastics," Minister Watt said.

“Australia has played a leadership role in negotiations to date and we will continue to advocate for an effective and meaningful global treaty when countries come together again for the negotiations in Geneva this August.

“Australia imports approximately 60 per cent of plastic used in our economy. A global treaty will help us ensure that plastic imports are safe and designed for circularity.

“This will also allow us to increase plastic recycling rates, further develop recycling industries and create a level playing field for domestic industry as it continues its transition to a more circular economy, building our industries of the future, and delivering critical outcomes for the environment and human health.”