Public Statement - 'Addicted to Plastics' program on ABC1

Plastics: Materials for Our Future – too valuable to waste

The documentary “Addicted to Plastics”, aired on ABC1 on Thursday 18th June 2009, provides a valuable insight into how plastics and innovation have contributed to a safe and healthy society and continue to deliver solutions to problems associated with climate, population and economic change.

The program also vividly highlights the problems that occur when the plastic products we use are allowed to be wasted and end up in the wrong environments. The durability of plastics is a vital benefit for water tanks, bank notes, medical devices, airbags in cars and for packaging food and water. However, this same characteristic creates problems when any product, including plastic products, are littered and not managed properly. Marine and land-based litter create significant problems for the environments and their inhabitants. Litter and landfills waste a wide range of valuable resources, including plastics.

Importantly, we already have a range of solutions such as recycling back to new plastics, safely degrading into compost as well as conversion to fuels and energy. Industry, research groups, governments and communities need to continue working together make a positive difference.

The program reminds us of some important points:

• Many of the plastics we use are durable: “it doesn’t go away”
• “We need to cherish plastic as the finite and valuable material it is”
• It’s time to “re-think our relationship to synthetic materials”
• Current and new technologies as well as new materials all help deliver improvements and solutions to avoidable waste

These are valuable insights as we all seek to understand the responsibilities and opportunities we have to use our resources and energy wisely and contribute to a sustainable future.

Plastics deliver solutions to problems:

Plastic materials and products better allow our communities to adapt to the challenges of climate, population and economic change. While plastics use only 4% of the world’s oil and gas, water tanks and pipes allow us to reduce our reliance on mains water supplies while new types of plastics will create more affordable solar power. Light weight vehicles reduce the use of fossil fuels and plastic packaging keeps food fresher for longer. Plastics really are the materials for our future.

Avoidable problems occur when plastics are wasted:

PACIA’s policy is to work to eliminate plastic waste going to landfill and partnering with governments and communities to tackle all litter, including plastics. In Australia, 60% of the plastic products we make are durables including water tanks, pipes, building products and automotive parts. For the 40% which have shorter lives, generally packaging, most plastics are now collected for recycling at kerbside and increasingly at businesses, sporting venues and other away from home locations. Recycling plastics is an ongoing success story in Australia and helps sequester carbon. We all need to work together to make best use of the important benefits that plastics have to offer and prevent the problems caused when they are wasted. 

Plastics are too valuable to waste. What you can do:

1. Use plastic products to conserve resources and energy:
   • Save water with rainwater tanks, piping and fittings
   • Save food by keeping it fresh in packaging and storing left-overs in containers
   • Save energy by insulating buildings
2. Recycle:
   • Encourage your local Council, shopping centres, businesses and restaurants to recycle
   • Make sure your own used plastics are recycled, rather than becoming litter or ending up in landfill
3. Take a stand against littering:
   • Littering is an avoidable human behaviour – you can make a difference
   • Vic EPA litter line: http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/litter/
4. Join with others to make a difference
   • All types of companies and organisations can join industry associations such as PACIA and work together to improve sustainability in their workplaces, markets and supply chains and create lasting transformation
   • Individuals can join a broad range of community organisations and work to clean up and improve their local environments and lend a hand to other communities
5. Stay informed and encourage sustainable thinking and actions

The following is a helpful list of resources that PACIA members, the plastics and chemicals industries and our partners in governments, research and communities are involved with:

• Plastics – Materials for Our Future
• Sustainable Plastics Recovery document
• Design for Sustainability with Plastics program 
• Degradable Plastics Product Stewardship guide and commitment
• 2008 National Plastics Recycling Survey
• The National Packaging Covenant