In just a few short decades, plastic has found its way into almost every part of our lives and into every corner of the planet.

Plastic waste is now found in the deepest parts of our oceans, in the most remote ecosystems, and even in our own bodies.

And Western Australia is no exception – our own CCWA Citizen Scientists have found microplastics polluting the sand of every beach we have tested.

The rising tide of plastic pollution is choking, poisoning, and starving our wildlife, and even polluting the food we eat.

Unless we take action to address this global problem now, it is estimated that the plastic in our oceans will outweigh our fish by 2050!¹ 

Take a look at some of the main culprits - we’ll learn how to deal with them below:

THE SOLUTION

Plastic hasn’t always been part of our daily lives, and communities all over the world are finding ways to go plastic free again. For ideas on everyday living, check out our Plastic Free WA Blog!

BAGS: We could keep our beautiful Western Australian ocean clean and protect our marine life by banning single use plastic bags. South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and the ACT already have bans in place - will we be next?

BOTTLES: We could be recycling 3-4 times as many bottles and cans if we implemented a container deposit scheme like the one in South Australia, and keep around 500 million out of landfill each year⁸.

BEADS: We could prevent microplastics from polluting our oceans by banning microbeads and better managing our wastewater. The United States will begin phasing out microbeads in July 2017⁹. 

Plastic Free Petition 

Dear Premier and Environment Minister,

I am deeply concerned about plastic pollution in Western Australia, and call on you to act urgently.

Australians currently add around 80 million plastic bags to the ocean each year, and unless we act now, plastic will outweigh our fish by 2050.

I urge you to address plastic pollution in Western Australia by taking the following steps:

1. Ban single use plastic bags
2. Implement a recycling refund system for bottles and cans
3. Ban microbeads and tackle microfibre pollution in wastewater