Australia, Indonesia team up to tackle ocean pollution

Illustrative image. (Photo: raceforwater.org)

Hanoi (VNA) - Australia's national science agency - the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) - and the Australian government have formed a partnership with Indonesia to address plastic pollution in the Indo-Pacific.

The CSIRO on March 7 announced that it has coordinated with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to set up the Plastics Innovation Hub Indonesia with 1.3 million AUD (950,745 USD) in funding. 

The hub will bring researchers, investors and the private and public sectors together to work out solutions to plastic waste in waterways in Indonesia and the wider region.

Larry Marshall, chief executive of the CSIRO, said through a collaborative approach plastic pollution could become an environmental and economic benefit.

"Science can turn this environmental challenge into an economic opportunity by changing the way we behave, and how we make, use, recycle or dispose of plastics, but it will take partnerships across research, business, investors, government and the community to turn the best ideas into real-world solutions," he said in a media release.

According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), there are between 75 million and 199 million tonnes of plastic currently in the world's oceans. 

The CSIRO estimates that there are 5 billion to 10 billion individual pieces of plastic on coastlines in the Indo-Pacific alone./.