Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival launched yesterday with a strong desire for action from the government, business and the community to tackle the significant problem of plastic in our ocean.
Allegra Spender MP took to the stage to call out past government and industry inaction on single use and ocean bound plastics, saying legislation was required to drive action. Numerous voices from the stage and audience echoed the frustration with Australia's escalating plastic problem at the day long Ocean Plastic Action Forum at Bondi Beach.
The Forum took place as part of the Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival, which will continue until 19 March at Bondi Beach.
The event saw innovators, scientists, policy makers and community action leaders come together to discuss the science and issues surrounding ocean plastic, exploring current innovations and reviewing future solutions to purge plastic from our ocean.
Australians consume more single-use plastic per person than any other country in the world except for Singapore[1]. Every year – despite millions of households making their best efforts to recycle – around 145,000 tonnes of this plastic waste leaks into our environment[2].
Allegra Spender MP, Federal Member for Wentworth said the current voluntary targets around changing plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025 are insufficient to drive real action and she believes there is a role for government in solving the problem of plastic in the ocean, "The current targets at not mandatory and they're not working. Plastic waste is increasing and recovery rates are flat-lining. The federal government needs to legislate now, and put us on the path to purging plastic pollution for good".
Discussing some current innovations and solutions to purging plastic in the ocean, Mike Smith, founder of Zero Co. said, "Recycling is not a scalable solution to the problem, we need to stop making single use plastic and we need to regulate because big businesses have failed to step up to the challenge." Paul Riley, CEO of Samsara – which uses enzymes to break down plastic, echoed the need for legislation around recycling, "We need to legislate, there is no point in waiting anymore, corporates have shown they simply will not deliver and it's time they need to be held accountable for the damage they're doing."
Anita Kolni, Co-Founder of Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival said, "It is clear that Australians are concerned about plastic in our ocean. As an island nation, the ocean plays an enormously significant role in all our lives. This is one of the largest problems we will face in our lifetime and the fastest way to fix it is to collaborate with industry, government and community – and we need to act now."
Hope, collaboration, and legislation were the key outtakes from the Ocean Action Plastic Forum. Dr Julia Reisser Co-Founder & Co CEO of ULUU – which uses ocean material to replace plastic, said it was encouraging to see that there is a desire to make a real impact in the plastics space, "We need to keep up the activism, innovation and not lose hope," she said.
Other speakers included renowned scientist, engineer and inventor Professor Veena Sahajwalla from the UNSW SMaRT centre, Dr Britta Denise Hardesty from CSIRO, Grahame Lloyd from Sea Shepherd Australia, Pete Ceglinksi from SEABIN, Waverley Mayor, Cr Paula Masselos and Dr Margorie O'Neill MP, NSW Member for Coogee.
The Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival of Ideas, Art + Music & Actions has a jam-packed program of activities and events for all ages. Visit the website for more details on the festival program www.oceanloversfestival.com.
