Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek admitted last year that rather than rising to reach a target of 70% by 2025, recycling rates have remained at about 16% for the previous four years. Something needs to change.
Much of the recycling industry is at startup phase rather than mainstream or high-capacity businesses. Their production is hampered by procurement processes and lack of marketing or promotion. Pre-sorting of waste is still an issue across the community.
The growing awareness that plastic waste fragments are entering our bodies and ecosystems through the food chain and by being ingested, has placed a new urgency on plastic waste and its recycling.
The waste problem has also recently focused on food waste, which is reported to cost the economy $37 billion annually. According to Foodbank, approximately 70% of wasted food is edible, much of it left on farms.
Our plan
For government at all levels to promote the ‘circular economy’ including repair, reuse and recycling opportunities, and:
- Build awareness of possibilities in each of the repair, reuse and recycling sectors to encourage business investment and promote innovation
- Implement the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020 and ensure it is adequately funded and remains fit for purpose
- Achieve an average 80% recovery rate from all waste streams by 2030 (as set by the 2019 National Waste Policy Action Plan) and deliver annual and measurable targets
- Fund more research and action into technologies for;
– replacing unnecessary plastic and removal of its waste from the environment
– recovery of metals from the waste stream
– developing new battery materials and lithium battery reuse and recycling
– potential energy generation from waste, including food waste
– the emerging decommissioning of solar panel waste and support for photo-voltaic recycling facilities
– developing high-quality resins that are cost-competitive with raw materials - Ensure collecting, sorting, processing, treatment and storage of waste is managed efficiently to encourage businesses in the recycling sector
- Set targets and incentives for recycled material to replace raw materials for manufacturing and refine procurement processes, working with the packaging industry
- Adopt nationally consistent waste controls, and product labeling to assist consumers
- Respond to public concern about plastic fragments entering the food chain, the atmosphere, waterways and drainage systems that flow into oceans, where it can poison marine life.
- Phase out plastics that are difficult to recycle.
- Consider a levy on plastic production to offset the cost of its recycling
- Develop a food waste plan including incentives for donating, better storage and distribution
- Encourage state and local governments to;
– achieve consistency in waste collection bin provision, to enable public confidence and correct participation in pre-recycling, and to minimize cross-contamination of materials
– minimize the volume of waste going into landfill sites, by using technology and recycling interchange facilities, and to capture landfill greenhouse emissions - Advocate for a national approach to incentive schemes for recyclers, so that the public at the collection end of the process can share the benefits
References:
Commonwealth of Australia ‘Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020’, amended November 2021
Commonwealth of Australia (2018) ‘National Waste Policy. Less waste more resources’
Department of Climate Change Energy Environment and Water ‘Australia’s Emissions Projections 2023’ November 2023 AusGov
CSIRO (2017) ‘The Recycled Plastics Market: Global Analysis and Trends’ eds. Locock, Deane, Kosior, Prabaharan, Skidmore, Hutt.
EPA Victoria (2024), ‘Supporting Information for Separation Distance Guideline and Landfill Buffer Guideline’ VicGov
The Australia Institute (2024) ‘Plastic Waste in Australia’ Discussion Paper, eds. Anderson, Gbor
National Waste Recycling Industry Council (2024) ‘Submission to Senate Standing Committee’
‘Waste Management Review’, Monthly journal, Prime Creative Media
The Age 12.08.2023 – ‘Slow lane: recycled roads hit hurdle’ Liam Mannix
EndFoodWasteAustralia, ‘Annual Report 2023-2024’ November 2024
Recycling Victoria , ‘Annual Report 2022-2023’ VicGov
Recycling Victoria (2020) ‘Recycling Victoria: A new economy’, VicGov DELWP
Green Industries SA (2019) ‘Turning the tide on single-use plastics: next steps’, SA Government
The Conversation 14.08.2019 ‘How recycling is actually sorted, and why Australia is quite bad at it’ Jeff Seadon
National Waste Policy Action Plan
The Recycled Plastics Market: Global Analysis and Trends’t: Global Analysis and Trends