As with many countries, Bali has been facing a losing battle with plastics for many years, which has taken its toll on the holiday island’s pristine image. The arrival of plastics originally came with little in the way of education and recycling facilities, leading to a large amount of the material making its way to the beach. Now, approaching the 2022 summit, Bali is finally looking to ban single-use plastics by the end of the year.
The plan to ban plastics had originally been planned for 2019, with a six-month ‘practice’ period, before the intervention of COVID made it necessary for plastics to remain. Now, with the worst of the pandemic behind us, Bali is set to reaffirm its plastic-free mission again.
Although it's too early to tell how effective the ban will be yet, or whether it will hold this time, such an action reminds us in Aotearoa that there’s still much to be done. 2019 saw the ban of single-use plastic bags, and now the campaign continues to ban plastic bottles and other single-use products by 2025. The ban will include products such as cotton buds, cutlery, straws and fruit labels — products that have biodegradable or reusable solutions. Right now, we’re one of the top 10 per-capita producers of landfill waste, throwing away 159kgs of plastic per person. If we’re to continue our leadership in the war against plastic, we too will need to ban more single-use plastics from everyday use, limiting the available options.
Sources: Honeycombers, Earthly Education, The Guardian
About the author - meet Earthan James McCulloch
James is a literary student and environmental enthusiast who likes thinking about the better futures we could have (and those we best avoid). When not playing with other people’s dogs or taking long, mindful walks, he’s usually found reading and writing, often at the local library. You can check him out on his blog for something a little different, where he talks about all things literary or otherwise.