Here’s some sobering facts about plastic. Australia produces more single-use plastic waste per capita than any other country except Singapore, according to a Minderoo Foundation report. And our plastic consumption is going up: it increased by 60% from an estimated 92kg per person in 2000 to 148kg per person in 2020-21, according to the Australia Institute. Soft plastics – those that can be scrunched into a ball – are almost always single-use.
On top of that, the latest Plastic Waste Makers Index found that despite massive consumer awareness campaigns and regulations, there is now more single-use plastic in circulation globally than ever – an additional 6 million metric tons (MMT) generated in 2021 compared with 2019 – and it is still almost entirely made from fossil fuel-based “virgin” feedstocks.
