Plastic pollution is growing with devasting consequences for our ecosystems and human health – It is estimated that plastic in the oceans will outweigh fish by 2050.

While the environmental and health impacts of plastic have been examined from scientific standpoints, a newly released research paper explores a uniquely human side of the issue: waste colonialism.

Te Moananui, a concept from the Pacific region, contributes as little as 1.3% of the world’s plastics pollution. And yet it is bearing the brunt of the global problem, having the highest recorded quantity of floating plastics in the world.

This is an environmental and social injustice and the symptom of a systemic problem, according to the paper’s co-author and Pacific Engagement Coordinator at the University of Newcastle, Dr Sascha Fuller.

Dr Sascha Fuller stands in front of the ocean

Dr Sascha Fuller (pictured)  is an environmental anthropologist and Pacific Engagement Coordinator at the University of Newcastle.

“We’re viewing the ocean from a Western framework, as totally separated from a human connection,” Dr Fuller explained.

Her work, and that of her co-authors, published in the Journal of Political Ecology, suggests an answer for preventing plastic pollution in Te Moananui lies in the centering of its peoples’ voices and their deep, lived, and intergenerational knowledges.

The study involves nineteen interviews with plastic pollution decision-makers in Te Moananui, from six island nations (Samoa, Tuvalu, Tonga, Kiribati, Fiji, Solomon Islands) -  sixteen of which are Indigenous.

“In Indigenous relationships to land and ocean, people take more care to protect their lands because the land is kin. It’s a key relationship that involves taking responsibility to the land, as you would take responsibility for your family.”

Aboriginal people and cultural knowledge holders vital 

The research findings show a shift in the approach to caring for country is key to addressing the crisis and suggests that Te Moananui is not the only place experiencing the impacts of waste colonisation.

Wiradjuri/Wailwan man, Peter Townsend, is the Culture and Heritage officer for Awabakal Aboriginal Land Council here in Newcastle and has been working in the conservation and environment space for more than 20 years.

From plastic pollutions to bushfire management, or the overdevelopment of land and sea – Mr Townsend supports Dr Fuller and her co-author’s arguments and is adamant that solutions to our environmental concerns require the knowledge of the world’s oldest living culture.

“It’s vital that Aboriginal people and cultural knowledge holders are part of the decision-making and early-planning process,” Mr Townsend said.

“Because we, as mob, are looking at these places through a different lens - We don’t look to see what we can get out of it, or what money it’s worth – We’re reading country and sea to understand what it’s telling us.”

Mr Townsend offered a Native American quote that has resonated with him over the years.

‘Life will cease to exist on Earth without the knowledge of Indigenous peoples,’ “and that's showing itself right now,” Mr Townsend finished.

Federal government data showed thousands of tonnes of plastic waste has washed upon the shores in Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria alone since 2021.

This year, Indigenous ranger groups in the north claimed plastic pollution is the worst they've ever seen it, and despite the well-documented harms such as the leaching of toxic chemicals into waterways - Production isn’t set to ease. In fact, it’s set to double by 2040.

Urgency to act

The growing enormity of the issue shows the urgency to act oDr Tina Ngata stands with a black t-shirt saying Indigenous resiliencen plastic pollution as waste colonialism.

Co-author of the research paper, Tina Ngata, is an Indigenous Rights advocate and independent researcher from Ngāti Porou in Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Ngata adds that this approach should take priority not only out of respect to Indigenous peoples, but because it’s the most effective pathway to a sustainable future.

“They have clearly demonstrated – with a long history – the ways of knowing, being, doing, and relating, that look after the planet best.”

While there is no simple fix to such a considerable issue, prioritising these kinds of approaches requires big picture thinking.

“There’s no point doing conservation if the problem isn’t turned off at the tap,” Ngata said.

“In order to make the kind of shift that we need to make in relation to oceanic wellbeing but also in relation to climate change and a lot of the existential crises that we face, it requires a lot of big system change,” Ngata explained.

Indigenous resilience is a key focus for independent researcher Tina Ngata, pictured. Credit: Qiane Matata-Sipu

“It’s not a favour you’re doing Indigenous peoples… This is a powerful resource.”

This could include global policy provisions such as those proposed in the new global plastics treaty. According to Dr Fuller, the overarching problem is what is the rest of the world doing – or not doing.

One example is Coca-Cola.

During Dr Fuller’s tenure in Samoa as the University of Newcastle’s Pacific Engagement Coordinator, Coke switched from glass to plastic bottles.

“We saw the immediate impacts in the waterways, in the streets, people stockpiling plastic PET bottles in cafes, not knowing what to do with them. In a country like Samoa, there is next to no recycling system. With Coca-Cola switching to plastic, and not taking the plastic back out of the country, it is left to the Samoan government to deal with this enormous externally-generated problem.”

Plastics alternatives are plentiful – the study references plastic bags being replaced with bilums in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, for example, and banana and coconut fronds used for weaving baskets and for packaging take-home foodstuffs in Samoa. However, these alternatives are no match for the systemic issues at hand.

“The solution is stopping plastics at the source,” Dr Fuller said.

“Curbing virgin plastic production and regulating design standards are some control measures proposed in the new plastics treaty.”

Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

10 - Reduced inequalities11 - Sustainable cities and communities12 - Responsible consumption and production13 - Climate action14 - Life below water15 - Life on land