In January 2026, the Productivity Commission released Australia’s Circular Economy: Unlocking the Opportunities — an inquiry tasked with identifying ways to improve Australia’s materials productivity and support the transition to a circular economy. While it contains practical observations about barriers and opportunities, it falls short of identifying what is required to shift Australia from a linear, to a circular economic model. A circular economy moves beyond the traditional “take-make-dispose” model. Internationally, circular economy policy is recognised not as waste reform, but as economic and climate reform. The reason for this is clear: material extraction and processing are major drivers of global greenhouse gas emissions.
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