I admire Mullum Cares (Echo 26 January) for its recycling projects to reduce COVID-testing plastic going into landfill. I hope that when it gets more support and sponsors it will be able to help the planet on a larger scale. There are a few things to tackle.
The first one would be to stop focus on the end of the plastics journey. Many countries throw plastic into rivers and tips. The Mediterranean has plastic bags floating in it, trillions of plastic bottles are floating in oceans and landfill, and all those fun glow-sticks head there too. We have millions of tonnes of plastic from hospitals from single use-items related to COVID as well as normal hospital procedures (get a cut and go to Emergency and watch how much plastic goes into the bins). Multiply that by the number of hospitals in the world and it’s staggering.
Supermarkets have started packaging fruit in cardboard instead of plastic and have a long way to go in eliminating plastic packaging. Everything bought online comes in plastic: bags, spacing, and bracing. Cars are made with plastic and all parts are plastic bagged. Building supplies are wrapped in plastic. Plane parts are wrapped in plastic. Skyscrapers are built with plastic.
The focus of action needs to go to the origin of the plastics: the MANUFACTURERS. After years of arguing they will use organic products for packaging. Hospital supplies will go in sterile non-plastic packaging. All drinks are in glass. You buy a crate of drinks, you take the empties back, the supplier recycles.
The focus of action needs to go to all manufacturers to stop them making plastic items that take forever to break down.
This will take a lot of time and work, and, as I live in Byron, I’m off to the beach. Hope someone reads this and does something about it.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
