Plastic Free July is wrapping up for 2023, and we take note of the goal to be ‘part of the plastic pollution solution’. In Australia, we use more than one million tonnes of plastic per year – and globally, our plastic waste is set to triple by 2040.
By reducing our reliance on single-use plastics, and limiting our plastic footprint, we can all help to minimise the environmental impacts of discarded plastics on our waterways and oceans. These strategies can continue year round, and we look to Stormwater Shepherds and their 5 R’s framework to Reduce, Reuse, Refuse, Recycle & Replace.
Clean waterways are a right, not a privilege. Removing plastic pollution in our urban catchments is key to a sustainable future, and we can all support better frameworks to minimise urban pollution being conveyed to our marine and river environments.
At an individual level we can all take on challenges, such as refusing plastic takeaway containers or switching to reusable coffee cups and drink bottles. Further upstream, stormwater treatment offers invaluable ways of removing plastic pollution at the source – our urban catchments.
By preventing the conveyance of plastic pollution downstream into our rivers, lakes and oceans, we can help to safeguard our communities and natural environment. Devices that capture gross pollutants (GPTs) and treat stormwater, such as the Vortceptor, BaffleBox and StormSack, are integral to this future and trap pollutants before they reach our natural environments.
Australia Joins Calls to End Plastic Pollution
Australia has joined the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution. Joining the likes of the UK, Canada and France, this coalition will seek to form UN resolutions to guide our use of plastics and implement policies that increase the circularity of plastic in our economies.
This group of over twenty nations have a common goal of ending plastic pollution by 2040, and together, will outline major strategies and milestones to meet these targets.
Plastic Free July is a great time to take stock of not only our own individual habits but also to explore some of the wider steps our communities are taking to reduce their plastic footprints. Change is being made at local, national and global levels to help reduce the impacts of plastic pollution – and now is the time to turn the tide on plastics.
