The Plastic Country: Film Screening & Panel Discussion @University of Newcastle - Citizen COP 2026

About

The Plastic Country: Film Screening & Panel Discussion

Australia has a plastic problem, and The Plastic Country explores what it will take to fix it.

Join us on campus for a free screening of Kal Glanznig's 70-minute feature documentary, which examines Australia's heavy reliance on plastic and the impacts of our plastic use. Australians are among the highest per-capita users of plastic in the world. So what do we do about it, here at home?

The film will be followed by a 20-minute panel discussion with local voices working across plastics, health and waste, exploring what can be done here in Newcastle:

Prof Thava Palanisami, who has led plastics research at the University of Newcastle for over a decade, with more than 100 papers and 15 PhD theses on plastics since 2016;

Bianca Bartlett, Co-Founder, Director and Sustainability Officer of The Full Circle Collective, currently working on The Unwearables Project, which collects old or damaged synthetic textiles for local reuse and recycling;

Matteo Balatti, Senior Project Officer in the Litter Prevention Unit at the NSW EPA;

Moderated by Dr Brodie Beales, Director of CIFAL Newcastle.

Free and open to everyone: students, staff and the wider Newcastle community. Registration is essential.

Presented with the support of CIFAL Newcastle and The Full Circle Collective.

Held as part of Citizen COP alongside COP31.

For any questions or support, please contact:

Masha Kondrasheva | [email protected] | 0411682792