In the lead up to the Plastics and the Circular Economy Conference (PCEC) 2023, PKN speaks to WWF-Australia’s Kate Noble about the need for more attention to be placed on circularity in the supply chain, and what to expect from her presentation at the event.
Noble leads WWF-Australia’s No Plastic in Nature initiative, part of WWF’s global initiative to put an end to plastic pollution, and recently commissioned a ground-breaking report for Australia on plastics and carbon emissions. She also supports WWF’s engagement in negotiations towards a global treaty to end plastic pollution.
Previously, Noble advised on governance and human rights work in around 20 countries for the BBC’s international development arm, and led policy research at one of Victoria University’s flagship research institutes.
Noble will be presenting in an International Showcase on Global Plastic Treaty and Trends: scope and impacts during Day 1 of the conference, on Monday 9 October, at 6:40pm to 9:10pm (AEDT) via Zoom.
PKN: What is the impact of insufficient attention to circularity and carbon emissions on Australia’s supply chain for plastic packaging?
Lack of attention to circularity and Australia’s plastic-related greenhouse gas emissions means we’re not applying the waste hierarchy or circularity principles in practice, and this has seen plastic consumption skyrocket in Australia over the past decades. A significant amount of our plastic consumption is unnecessary, harmful and wasteful in terms of both the potential plastic pollution pipeline, and in terms of unsustainable virgin materials use.
At all levels of government – and among the business community – there’s been a strong focus on recycling and waste management that has not yet been matched by serious attention to and investment in reduction and scaling re-use.
Where greenhouse gas emissions are taken into account in relation to plastic use and particularly packaging, it’s often in a very piecemeal or fragmented way. For example, life cycle analyses comparing single-use plastic packaging with other materials drives business decision-making in favour of single-use plastic, often not even taking into account reuse as an option.
These assumptions need to be challenged. European modelling, for example, suggests that scaling up reuse systems across the continent by 20 per cent by 2027 would cut 1.3 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions, save nearly 2.5 billion cubic meters of water, and use 10 million fewer tonnes of materials annually.
What do you think are some priority actions that could fix this to be discussed at the conference?
We’re hoping to be involved in some useful discussions on policy settings needed to scale reduction and re-use in Australia, which should speak directly to the Australian government’s current work on packaging reforms. Specifically, we’re interested in a range of stakeholder perspectives on binding re-use targets, economic incentives to drive circularity, and concrete reduction measures.
We’re also keen for discussion on the potential for collaboration to quantify the economic opportunity of scaling re-use in Australia, and industry collaboration to explore genuine re-use systems at scale – not just within specific companies, locations or applications.
Do you think that there are leaders in Australia to tackle this, and where and in which areas/sectors?
The Business Coalition for a Plastics Treaty involves more than 130 companies and peak bodies internationally, many of whom operate in Australia (some solely in Australia). They’re calling for robust global regulation of plastics driven by a reduction of virgin plastics, particularly fossil fuel-derived plastics; elimination of problematic plastic applications with a high probability of leaking into the environment; and a reducing demand for short-lived products.
This is leadership that needs to be backed by action not just within the treaty negotiation process, but also in our domestic markets, our workplaces, and our communities.
Agreement by all Australian environment ministers to reform packaging regulation by 2025 is another example of not only leadership, but the intent to work together towards a shared circular economy vision for Australia, which we hope to see articulated in an Australian circular economy strategy within the next 12 months.
There is significant political will to drive change; the challenge now is in making the right decisions that reduce consumption, waste and environmental harm, and implementing those effectively.
