Greenpeace Aotearoa is calling on the Govt to "cut the crap", and focus its Waste Strategy on eliminating the source of the plastic waste problem.

Greenpeace Aotearoa plastics campaigner Juressa Lee said the national waste strategy, which opened today for feedback from the public, has to be ambitious and innovative and have a committed focus on getting to the root of the cause of the plastic waste crisis. Lee also says we must minimise waste, not just replace one material for another.

"If the strategy is anything less than this, we will not move closer to fixing the plastic pollution crisis," says Lee.

"This framework is important for everyone to have their say on. It gives us the best opportunity to help frame strategies that transform our economy into a healthy and sustainable one where we don’t continue to use nature as a garbage dump,’’ added Lee.

"More recycling and new ways of handling plastic won't fix the plastic pollution crisis. We are drowning in it. It's in our bodies, our babies, in our food, in the deepest oceans and the highest mountains. We need to cut through all the false solutions. The problem of too much plastic can only be addressed by stopping production at the source."

"A billion plastic drink bottles are discarded in NZ every year which is horrifying and unnecessary. With return schemes and refill systems something many of us are familiar with, it makes sense that this is the logical next step in plastic phase outs. Ban the bottle today."

Greenpeace Aotearoa’s petition to "ban the bottle" now has over 90,000 signatures and the organisation is vowing to renew its efforts to eliminate throwaway plastic bottles.

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