Boomerang Alliance Newsletter - June 2018

Posted by on September 25, 2018
June 2018
 
 

Every day you can't miss in the media, the worldwide alarm about plastic pollution killing marine life and finding its way into our food chain.

The Boomerang Alliance was one of the first groups to campaign on this massive problem in Australia and we are having success. Almost every state has or will be introducing a container deposit scheme (after just 6 months, NSW has seen almost 400m bottles and cans returned), the plastic bag ban is spreading and excess packaging is a hot issue.

But there's a lot more to do to reach our goal of a 70% reduction in plastic finding its way into our waterways and ocean by 2020. We are pushing business to change their love affair with plastic packaging and campaigning for new government policies and laws at national, state and local levels. Our Communities Taking Control is working in key regions to convert the plastic addiction – cafe by café, council by council, event by event.

And we are forming alliances with recyclers to lobby for a positive response to the 'waste crisis' brought about by China's rejection of contaminated kerbside recyclate. We oppose more landfill and waste to energy.

Australia needs to lock onto a future where resources are not wasted and the environment is protected.

Jeff Angel - Director of Bommerang Alliance
 
CAMPAIGNS
 

MICROBEADS

In April 2018, Boomerang Alliance launched our campaign and strategy for Commonwealth legislation against the production and sale of products containing microbeads in Australia. The strategy resulted in 16,000 signed letters from our loyal network. 

BIG BOTTLE TOUR

April saw Boomerang Alliance hit the road with a 3-metre-long Coke Bottle on a mission to sway the Victorian government to implement a statewide 10 cents Container Deposit Scheme. And land primetime media coverage on The Project and ABC News in the process.

COMMUNITIES TAKING CONTROL

Boomerang Alliance’s Communities Taking Control pilot strategies based in Noosa and Wollongong were conceived as projects to reduce single-use plastic footprint and achieve wide scale change within the entire community. And bolstered by ambitious targets, both are making impressive progress, individually and collectively.
   
 
 
PIONEERS

Disillusioned by the rising level of plastic waste in the waters off Perth, Pete Ceglinski felt compelled to find a solution. And together with close friend Andrew Turton, they hit upon a simple idea – a rubbish bin for the water or 'The Seabin.'

Placed in a marina, harbour or any waterway with a calm environment, the effective model which sucks in waste and filters out debris-free water, has the extraordinary capacity to capture 500 kilos of debris annually including 90,000 shopping bags, 50,000 plastic bottles and 35,000 disposable coffee cups.

Following huge success in Europe and North America, the environmental innovation recently enjoyed its Australian debut installation at Sydney’s Darling Harbour. And in the lead-up, Boomerang Alliance chatted with Ceglinski as part of our new series, Pioneers.
 
THE DO's AND DONT's OF RECYCLING
 
FUTURE CAMPAIGNS
 

Cut the Wrap

Our campaign against excessive plastic packaging is continuing with The Future of Packaging forum on the 12th of July in association with Bloomberg.

Plastic Bag Campaign

Bolstered by the imminent QLD and WA plastic bag bans and Coles and Woolworths voluntary phase-out, the pressure is on for NSW to implement legislation.

CDS Victoria

Capitalizing on Big Bottle Tour, we will initialize the next stage in the plan – political engagement. We will meet with members of both sides to discuss proposals for CDS.
 
 
Words: Stephen Milton      Design: Rianti Bieler
 
We would not have been able to do all these works without our supporters. Please donate so we can continue our fight against plastic pollution.
 

 

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We acknowledge that the name of our organisation includes the name of the Aboriginal tool, the BOOMERANG, adopted for the symbolism of returning to the user. We hope that the resources we use, which all come from the land, will be part of a circular economy and return to that economy again and again. We respectfully commit to Care for Country in the spirit of the Indigenous custodians of this land and these waters. We recognise that there has never been compensation for stolen country. We continue to show our respect to Indigenous leaders, past, present and emerging. May we all walk respectfully on the land and protect the waterways which are life.

 

 

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