Rachel Payne MP has raised an adjournment matter calling on the Minister for Environment to strengthen protections against plastic pollution. This includes microplastics, in Victoria’s waterways.
Full Transcript
Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (19:24): (2737) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Environment, Minister Symes. I call on the minister to ensure the EPA amends the environment reference standard to explicitly include plastics, including microplastics.
Plastic pollution is not just a problem in far-off oceans, it is happening in our waterways. From the deepest parts of our ocean to local rivers, creeks and bays, plastic waste and microplastics are accumulating at alarming rates. They are entering marine ecosystems, harming wildlife and threatening the health of environments we all depend on. Plastic pollution is a global problem. It starts with what we allow to enter our waterways.
For more than a decade the Port Phillip EcoCentre and Tangaroa Blue Foundation have been documenting plastic pollution across Melbourne. This includes plastic resin pellets, or nurdles, escaping from industrial sites and entering our waterways. They can escape industrial sites, wash into stormwater drains and eventually make their way into our waterways and the ocean. Once there, they can be mistaken for food by marine animals and become part of the wider plastic pollution problem. The fact that thousands of nurdles can be found trapped in our stormwater systems should be a wake-up call.
Therefore the action I seek is for the minister to progress amendments from this report. These should better protect Victoria’s waterways from plastic pollution.
Protecting What We All Depend On
Rachel’s adjournment matter puts a spotlight on an often-overlooked source of pollution — industrial plastic pellets, or nurdles, that escape into stormwater systems and waterways. This happens well before they ever reach the ocean. Backed by more than a decade of monitoring from the Port Phillip EcoCentre and Tangaroa Blue Foundation, her call is a straightforward one. She asks to update the environment reference standard so plastics and microplastics are explicitly covered. This would close a gap that’s leaving Victoria’s rivers, creeks and bays exposed.
