Plastic Free Pledge

Take the plastic-free pledge

Plastic-Free Pledge
Individuals, organisations and government
Great Barrier Reef

Our vision : a plastic-free Reef

We have a vision – a diverse, thriving Great Barrier Reef free from the impacts of plastic waste. That’s why we’ve joined forces with campaigns and projects along the Reef with an ambitious goal – to rid the Great Barrier Reef of single use plastics.

We’ve already begun this journey, partnering with the Last Straw on the GBR, Straw No More Project and AMPTO to get all reef tour operators and businesses to commit to ditching plastic straws. Hundreds have already signed up – you can see who’s who at the top of this page and take your own pledge below.

But we’re not stopping there! We’re expanding our ambition to include all single use plastics across the entire Reef. We’re encouraging councils, schools, organisations and businesses along its 2,300km length to come together and see just how far we can go!

A collaboration between

Take the pledge

Join hundreds of organisations who have committed to a brighter future for the Reef — pledge to remove single-use plastics from your operations.

The plastic problem

Used for minutes, lasts for centuries – single-use plastics have become a scourge on our environment.

Plastic straws, bottles, bags and takeaway containers are so ingrained in our daily lives that they’re hard to escape. With plastic waste recently found in the Antarctic and at the bottom of the ocean, it's clear that nowhere has escaped the epidemic, including the Great Barrier Reef.

Not only does plastic pollution directly impact marine life, its production releases billions of kgs of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. This fuels climate change, the Reef’s biggest threat. Plastic pollution also carries disease long distances across the ocean, causing coral sickness where it lands.

Meet Molly Steer

Founder, Straw No More Project

Meet Molly, the inspirational 10 year old behind the Straw No More Project. Inspired by the film A Plastic Ocean, Molly decided to do something about pollution and began her journey to convince school tuckshops to ditch plastic straws. She has since given a TEDx talk, appeared on national television and even convinced Cairns Regional Council to ban single use plastics from their operations. Molly is the embodiment of a Reef Hero, showing that individual actions really do make a difference.

I want to encourage all schools in Australia to stop using single-use plastic straws. We owe it to the ocean and the Great Barrier Reef.
Molly Steer

Meet Nicole Nash

Founder, The Last Straw on the Great Barrier Reef

Meet Nicole, marine biologist and founder of The Last Straw on the GBR. While studying on the Reef, Nicole witnessed the back-to-back bleaching events of 2016/17 and was determined to do something. From her research, she knew that reducing stress on marine life helps it to survive in the face of other threats like climate change, and reducing marine debris entering our ocean was a key way to do so.

Straws are just the start of the conservation - when people stop and realise that you don’t offer straws, they start to ask questions.
Nicole Nash

Plastic stats

  • 40% of all plastic is manufactured for packaging – used just once, then thrown away [source]
  • 1 million plastic drink bottles are bought around the world every minute [source]
  • Half of all plastic that has ever existed was made in the past 13 years [source]
  • Microplastics exist in more than 90% of bottled water [source]
  • It is estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic mass in the ocean than fish [source]
  • 91% of plastic is never recycled [source]

Find out more

To learn more about how to go plastic-free, get information on marine debris in Australia, or to get involved in coastal cleanups, visit the links below.

Unite for the reef.

Together, we can ease the pressures that the reef faces - but we need your support to do it. Because it’s only when we’re united as Citizens, that our individual actions can come together to make a real, physical impact on the Great Barrier Reef.

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