Australia pledged on Friday to stop exporting recyclable waste, amid concerns about plastic polluting the oceans and increasing pushback from Asian nations against accepting trash, AFP reported.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison agreed with Australian state and territory leaders to prepare a timeline to phase out the exports of recyclables like plastics, paper and glass. “It’s our waste and it’s our responsibility,” he told reporters on Friday.
“We’re laying it out very clearly that there will be no export of plastics and paper and glass to other countries where it runs the risk of ending up floating around in our oceans,” he said.
No deadline has been set. However, local leaders have been tasked with reducing landfill and boosting the recycling sector in Australia, where just 12 percent of plastics are currently recycled.