Along with food waste, textiles and fast fashion, single use plastics are and will continue to be a problem while we do not act.

By 2050 it’s estimated there will be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans. Most comes from land and was once in our hands but if we refuse single-use plastic, we can keep our oceans clean.

Plastics were developed in the early 20th century and were environmentally important, replacing ivory, tortoiseshell, horn and other plant and animal products. By the 1960s plastic had gone from being used in durable items to widespread use including disposable plastic packaging. Essentially too much of a good thing.

Every piece of plastic ever produced still remains somewhere in the earth today. In the last half of the 20th century more than one billion tonnes of plastic was produced. This figure has already doubled in the first ten years of this century 

In one week, we go through 10 billion plastic bags worldwide and in the USA an average of 2.5 million plastic bottles are used every hour and more 500 million straws are used daily. 

The Australian per capita numbers are similar. We purchased 726 million litres of water in 2015 – this would approximate two billion bottles of water a year or around 5.5 million a day.

Recycling is important but will never be the solution to rapidly expanding consumption. The focus needs to be on refusing, reducing and reusing. Although many plastic products can be recycled, actual rates of recycling are often low – particularly at events and public places.

There is, of course, a Plastic Free July challenge. People can sign up for a day, a week or the whole month and try to refuse all single-use plastic, or the main four offenders: plastic bags, water bottles, takeaway coffee cups and straws. The website is plasticfreejuly.org.