Aotearoa New Zealand Organisations Join Global Call For An End To Single Use Products
Aotearoa New Zealand Organisations join Global
Call for an end to Single Use Products, as the United
Nations Environment Assembly gets set to discuss
sustainability
Make “throwaway go away”
if you care about the planet, groups say
As
government representatives from 193 member states prepare to
discuss “Strengthening Actions for Nature”[1], 188
environmental groups from around the world – including
four from Aotearoa New Zealand – are calling on them to
change the systems that support production of polluting
single-use products.
The environmental groups today
issued a joint position paper “From Single Use to Systems
Change”, to highlight the massive impact that disposable
products are having on the natural environment, wildlife,
human health, and vulnerable communities.
Single use
products, from packaging to food containers, to disposable
cups and cutlery, are a key contributor to the 2 billion
tonnes of waste that humans produce every year. That number
is projected to increase 70% by 2050.
“We’re
depleting the very life support systems that we all need to
survive, simply for the supposed convenience of single-use
products,” said Tamara Stark, Campaigns Director of
Canopy, one of the authoring organizations of the joint
position paper. “Doing away with disposables will not only
reduce waste but help address climate change, protect
forests, and stop microplastics from poisoning marine
life.”
The paper points to specific actions to be
taken by governments, business leaders, financial
institutions and investors, in order to transform production
systems, reduce the overall use of raw materials and
consumption, and spur innovation. Whilst actions by
individuals also play a part, the NGOs say that more
responsibility resides with decision-makers and those
designing and approving the systems themselves.
“Too
often, it is the most vulnerable people in our societies
that bear the brunt of these polluting products – which
contaminate local food supplies, clog landfills, and poison
water and soil with toxic chemicals,” said Von Hernandez,
Global Coordinator of the global Break Free From Plastic
movement. “It’s high time that we make corporations and
industries that are driving global pollution and the climate
crisis accountable for their actions. We need to see radical
change in how products are delivered to people, without the
use of harmful and polluting packaging.“
“Paper
versus plastic has always been a false choice. From the
perspective of paper it means more forests logged,
destruction of our best defense against climate change, and
more pollution for the frontline communities where paper
mills are sited,” said Scot Quaranda, Communications
Director for Dogwood Alliance. “After watching our
environmental safeguards decimated over the last several
years in the U.S., it is high time we and other
industrialized nations take the lead on shifting to more
sustainable production methods and products.”
The
Environmental Paper Network is another key advocate for a
shift away from single use products and systems, and have
this week launched the new website SolvingPackaging.org to
help companies, lawmakers, advocates, and individuals ditch
disposables and embrace sustainable packaging
solutions.
In New Zealand, the Government has started
taking small steps to address the impacts of single-use
products – from proposing to ban some single-use plastics
to setting up a plastics innovation fund.
The
independent Climate Change Commission’s recently released
draft advice may also change how we manage single-use
products. The Commission recommends New Zealand reduces
organic waste to landfill, which includes products with a
paper and cardboard content. Many single-use products
contain paper and cardboard, like single use cups,
containers and food packaging.
“The Government’s
actions are a good start, but we can’t stop at banning
particular materials – we need to tackle the source of the
issue, which is our reliance on single-use throwaway
products and systems. We have to change how we do things in
our economy, and give a big boost to circular systems based
around reuse and zero waste,” says Chair of Aotearoa Plastic
Pollution Alliance, Liam Prince.
The joint paper From
Single Use to Systems Change can be found here: https://canopyplanet.org/single-use-to-systems-change/
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