Ever been irritated by the rubbish dumping thing? Of course, most people are—and most people wonder: what kind of person would dump rubbish in beautiful places like our bushlands?
But there’s another dimension to this problem: it starts at the source.
Plastic dominated rubbish pile at the Railway dam a few years ago. FOBIF has an extensive collection of photos of similar rubbish all over our region. Of course, dumpers are to blame, but the real problem starts at the production point.
Here are some fun facts: in 1950, the world produced 2 million tonnes of plastic. In 2022, the figure was 475 million tonnes; at present rates of increase, it will top 1000 million tonnes by 2060.
As if these figures weren’t bad enough, consider this: of the above quantities, 9% is recycled, about 50% ends in landfill, 19% is incinerated…and 22% slops around the planet, most dangerously in the oceans: it’s been estimated that 15 tonnes of plastic is dumped in the sea every minute!
And, of course, it’s hard not to notice that a large part of the stuff dumped in our bush is plastic.
How can such insanity persist? Guess what: it’s because plastic is ‘cheaper’ than alternative substances! And convenient, of course. If you have the stomach for some terrifying stats about Australia’s plastic use, check here.
There’s a UN conference in Geneva right now to try to hammer out a treaty to limit plastic damage: for more details check here.
And if you want to sign a Greenpeace petition urging Australia to commit to such a treaty, check here.
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