New ghost net & marine debris artwork digital marketplace set up to support indigenous women of Cape York Photo: De Jersey women from Mapoon – 3 generations.  Wei’Num Aboriginal Art and Craft Corporation based in Northwest Cape York, have co-designed an Ocean Arts program called ‘Hunter Gatherers Mamas’ with Plastic Collective (PC) and Charles Sturt University (CSU), to transform marine litter into valuable artworks. Supported by a new online marketplace, tailored training and essential repurposing equipment to produce artworks from ghost net and marine debris, this programme fa ..read more

The Plastic Impact on Climate Change Climate change is a topic that is currently garnering a lot of attention in the media, especially with reports of unseasonal and extreme weather events that are taking place around the world. With this increased scrutiny there is a focus on the various contributing climate impact factors to identify what can be done to tackle the problem. One area that has been established as having a negative impact is related to plastic production. Climate change is impacted by our reliance on plastic and also the side effects of the plastic industry which includes bot ..read more

Social-Plus: A new Standard for improving waste picker conditions The estimated 20 million waste pickers operating around the world [1] provide around 60 percent of the global collection volume for plastic recycled material [2]. However, waste pickers receive little to no recognition for their essential contribution to circular economy, environmental protection, and collection services. They work in high-risk conditions and are exposed to market price volatility, exploitative work conditions, discriminatory treatment and suffer disproportionately from climate change impacts. The new Socia ..read more

Plastic Collective’s Plastic Leadership Labels Plastic Collective offers three plastic leadership labels to brands. The labels are awarded based on a brand’s achievements in the key circularity actions of collecting and recycling equivalent volumes of the plastic they sell or use, and using recycled content. 100% Net Plastic Collected: Brands may display the “100% Net” Plastic Collected label to demonstrate collection of their plastic. To achieve one of these labels a brand must: Disclose a set of key plastic accounting metrics including its plastic footprint, and an estimate of how much is ..read more

What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is a vast area in the North Pacific Ocean where marine debris, primarily plastics, has accumulated due to ocean currents. What we have come to know as the great pacific garbage patch was first discovered by Captain Charles Moore in 1997 when sailing back after a yacht race. Its location is now known as the Eastern Garbage Patch and is found between Hawaii and California. Later the 5 Gyres Institute has discovered another five garbage patches in oceans around the world. Unfortunately, it is likely that more will ..read more

Mitigation of Plastic Pollution – Climate Action on Plastic Waste, Mitigation Survey Mitigation of Plastic Pollution This blog is the second in our blog mini series focused on Plastic Collective’s Plastic Pathways for Corporates which help corporates address plastic pollution as part of taking action on climate change and achieving their sustainability objectives, guided by the Guidelines for Corporate Plastic Stewardship, as released in February 2021 [1]  (the “Corporate Guidelines”). Plastic Collective‘s Plastic Pathways for Corporates take a corporate through these seven steps, based ..read more

Net Zero vs. Carbon Neutral In recent years, the phrases “net zero” and “carbon neutral” have become buzzwords in the climate change and sustainability discussion. Governments, businesses, and individuals are increasingly encouraged to reduce their carbon footprint and instead adopt green practices to minimize their environmental impact. Understanding the differences between net zero carbon emissions and carbon neutral is crucial to developing effective strategies for tackling climate change. Learning the critical differences between net zero and carbon neutral is helpful. We will examine t ..read more

Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution & Marine Litter (GPML) Recently (in April 2023) we proudly became an official member of the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML), a multi-stakeholder partnership working together to find solutions to prevent marine litter and plastic pollution. This global platform facilitates cooperation between diverse stakeholders including governments, intergovernmental organisations, regional bodies, private and civil sectors and academic institutions. Launched at the United Nations conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) i ..read more

What Are Plastic Offsetting Schemes for Business Image: geralt | pixabay Contact us today to learn more about our plastic neutral scheme. As a business it is almost inevitable that you will use a certain amount of plastic in either the products you supply or as a by-product of carrying out commerce. Many organizations have set themselves targets to improve the sustainability of the business operations, including reducing the use of carbon and non-sustainable materials including some plastic usage. One of the big buzzwords from recent years is carbon offsetting. These carbon credits are ..read more

Sustainable Development: Challenges and Opportunities Image: geralt | pixabay Sustainable development has been on the agenda since the late 1980s and over that time much progress has been made in moving towards a world that is more sustainable. However, with population growth and issues surrounding climate change the challenges of sustainable development continue and its needs must be met with new initiatives. What is Sustainable Development? First, what exactly is meant by the phrase ‘sustainable development’? In simple terms sustainable development is a guiding principle that focuses ..read more