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Veena was interviewed by ABC Queensland Radio about Australia's new plastic waste commitment following the cessation of a soft plastics recycling scheme (listen via link further below).
Veena enthusiastically welcomed a plastic waste commitment by Australian Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek and talked about steps to take to develop a more holistic approach to recycling problematic wastes that are not traditionally processed in the wake of the stopping of the REDcycle waste plastic collection and recycling scheme.
Minister Plibersek announced that Australia will join the coalition of like-minded countries, co-led by Norway and Rwanda, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Canada, ahead of the First Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee Meeting (INC1) in Uruguay later this year. Veena will be speaking at the United National Environmental Program's Special Forum about the global commitment on 26 Nov, after Australia joined the UNEP's resolution to end plastics waste earlier this year.
The Global Commitment, led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN Environment Programme, brings together over 500 signatories including governments and industry, to work towards a common vision for a circular economy for plastics.
Australia has joined the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution signalling the Government’s strong ambition to end plastic pollution around the world by 2040 under a new plastic pollution treaty.
The Minister said: “In the Torres Strait and Timor Sea, abandoned fishing gear is killing marine animals on an industrial scale."
“The Albanese Labor Government is committed to protecting our unique environment. I met last month with state and territory environment ministers and agreed to reform the regulation of plastic packaging by 2025. This will ensure that all packaging available in Australia is designed to be recovered, reused, recycled and reprocessed safely in line with circular economy principles."
“Through the High Ambition Coalition and the Global Commitment, we look forward to strengthening partnerships across the globe to stamp out plastic pollution.”
Listen to the ABC Queensland Radio interview at 2:01:50
Read plastic waste background story by SMaRT Centre
See this SMaRT Centre joint research report on abandoned fishing gear impacts and solutions