Plastic-free advocate Anne Marie Bonneau believes we don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly, we need millions of people doing it imperfectly.
The statement resonates with Bellarine Catchment Network (BCN) sustainability and circular economy co-ordinator Rebecca St Ledger.
“Start somewhere small, start with just your water bottle, one item in your life that you think ‘yep, i can swap that out’,” she said.
“It leads gradually to more and more habit changes, you definitely don’t need to be a hero and try and solve the world’s problems straight away.”
A recent report from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Australian government agency responsible for scientific research, indicated that plastic along the nation’s beaches had decreased by almost a third.
Ms St Ledger said the plastic problem along the coast is “getting better”.
“Particularly on the Bellarine, where we have really engaged towns of citizens who are so passionate and committed about going out and collecting litter and really tackling plastic pollution in their towns,” she said.
“Wherever we had citizens doing regular clean ups, and regularly auditing for pollution, it would drop by 80 per cent.”
While the beach clean ups are helping to deal with a situation that’s “gotten out of hand already”, Ms St Ledger is asking people to think about how to stop the problem at the source.
“Using less plastic is one of the most important things that they can do, reuse your plastics, keeping it down to your essentials,” she said.
For community members wanting to help, Ms St Ledger recommends joining a local clean up group, but also says “we can all make a difference” by looking at our own waste habits.
“Have a bag with you, take rubbish home when you see it .. care for your own rubbish, make sure you’re being a good citizen,” she said.
“Walking on our beaches and doing the ‘take three for the sea’.”
