Plastic Waste in Australia
16
way to deal with the glut of plastic waste, and one that may be worse than existing
alternative solutions.
BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS
There is an increasing range of
‘bio
-
based plastics’
, which claim to be
‘biodegradable’
or
‘compostable’
. Although these products are becoming more common, they still represent a
negligible portion of overall plastic consumption. While consumers readily assume that
products advertised as compostable or biodegradable decompose in an environmentally-
friendly way, this is not always the case.
85
Claims of biodegradability or compostability are
based on ideal levels of moisture, oxygen, temperature and UV exposure that are often not
met in reality.
As such, many plastics labelled ‘compostable’ will only do so under
ideal,
industrial composting conditions. Of the 3.8 million tonnes of plastic consumed annually in
Australia, just 9,800 tonnes is certified as compostable by the Australian Government
–
just
0.3%.
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Biodegradable plastics also can contain toxic additives that cause harm to marine life
if they are improperly discarded.
87
A recent study
found that “m
ost home compostable
plastics don’t work”
because they had failed to break down over a six-month period.
88
The
lead author of the study, Professor Mark Miodownik, concluded that we should not pretend
that composted plastic is going to be some sort of panacea.
89
Furthermore, an over-reliance
on composting would see the disposal of single-use materials continue, and do little to
encourage the reduction and reuse of raw materials.
RECYCLING
About 12.6% of
Australia’s
plastic waste is recycled.
90
This means that recycling accounts for
about 90% of total plastic recovery.
91
In the recycling process, waste plastic is collected,
sorted and processed to produce new products. Proponents of recycling argue that this
eliminates the need for ‘virgin’ plast
ic feedstocks made from fossil fuels. But it is much more
85
UTS (2021
) ‘Biodegradable’ plastic will
soon be banned in Australia
, https://www.uts.edu.au/news/social-
justice-sustainability/biodegradable-plastic-will-soon-be-banned-australia
86
Author’s calculations, composted plastic as a portion of all plastic consumption.
Department of Climate
Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (2022)
Australian Plastic Flows and Fates Study 2020-21
, p 115
87
GRID-Arendal (2021) Drowning in plastics, https://gridarendal-website-
88
Weston (2022) ‘“It’s greenwash:
M
ost home compostable plastics don’t work, says study’
,
The Guardian,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/03/greenwash-home-compostable-plastics-dont-
work-aoe
89
Ibid.
90
DCCEEW (2022)
Australian Plastics Flows and Fates Study 2020
–
21,
p 1
91
Author’s calculations. Recycled plastic as a portion of all recovered plastic.