When you read the words ‘plastic pollution’, I bet there are a number of framed images your mind conjures – an olive ridley sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck up his nostril; a small estuary sea horse riding the current of polluted waters grasping a discarded cotton bud; or a fl ock of wedge-tailed shearwater fl edglings on Lord Howe Island with hundreds of plastic fragments being pulled from their stomachs. They’re the distressing signals of a crisis at hand – a direct result of our ‘single-use convenience’ and consumerism.
Not enough recycling
Since the 1950s, more than 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced. It’s a highly versatile, lightweight and durable material that’s easy to mould and shape. We use it in life-saving medical equipment such as disposable syringes, intravenous blood bags and heart valves; renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar cells; and hygienic packaging for the transportation and sale of food and drink. It’s a material that fl oods our homes, our work places, our entire existence. Yet, shockingly, only nine per cent of it has ever been recycled!