As the Australian parliament continues its deliberation on the Recycling and Waste Reduction Bill, environmental groups in Asia Pacific have sounded the alarm on the proposed legislation. The bill paves the way to the establishment of a legal framework to transform Australia’s plastic waste to fuel, and send it to low-income countries to burn.

Satyarupa Shekhar, Break Free From Plastic Asia Pacific Coordinator, explains the industry-backed move: “For years we have asked people to stop littering, segregate waste, recycle…  while the plastic industry who manufactures these single-use plastics sit on their comfortable corporate offices probably thanking us for doing the work for them. It is high time we make them accountable, ask them to clean up their mess, or change their old ways, and offer genuine solutions.”