The Prime Minister has announced the Government plans to phase out another round of single-use plastics including items like takeaway cups, fruit stickers, certain meat trays, takeaway food containers, plastic cotton buds, single-use plastic cutlery and who knows what else.
According to Stuffed
Ms Ardern has repeatedly said that the number one thing she receives letters about is reducing waste. “Many New Zealanders, including many children, write to me about plastic – concerned with its proliferation over the past decade and the mounting waste ending up in our oceans,” she said.
A cynic might suggest that given the standard of our education system and the levels of English taught (actually, make that NOT taught, because the language standards are nothing short of appalling), the likelihood that any child writing to the PM knows the meaning of “proliferation” is as high as the likelihood that she (the PM), will use our language correctly.
It would be understandable if children (and indeed adults) were writing to the PM about plastics if New Zealand were inundated by waste plastics all over the place. You know, rivers spewing out tonnes of it into our oceans, fences absolutely jam-packed with windblown plastic bags and cotton buds and our streets full of this single-use plastic everywhere. But never on any of my many travels around our country have I seen this huge problem. Even in the heart of the dungiest parts of our biggest cities, we do not appear to have a major plastic waste problem as in plastic blowing in the wind all over the place.
It’s highly likely that the PM does indeed get heaps of letters from 8-year-olds. It’s highly unlikely that any of those children will, of their own accord, have single-use plastics at the forefront of their thinking. They have far more important issues to deal with at that age, so look for the adult influence behind the letter writing. Might it be possible that we would find their teacher there?
Instead of teaching them about the 10 most polluted rivers in the world and the most polluted countries in the world, they “inspire” the children to write to our PM expressing fears of the end of the planet and she, gem that she is, will change the world from the centre of the universe that is New Zealand – that tiny irrelevant pimple on the arse of the planet.
Yes, we do need to care for our environment and yes, we could do much better and we should. But with housing no better than it was during the “nine years of neglect” and no improvement in child poverdy and no other promises fulfilled – is that all we can hope for? A ban on cotton buds and plastics that really only damages our own economy?
Oh please, can this be made to end soon.