Environmental groups issued an alert on the weakening resolve by the Commonwealth government to implement a circular economy, at the hearing of the Environment and Communications Committee Inquiry into waste reduction and recycling policies, recently.
‘’We are becoming increasingly concerned that the Commonwealth is taking the path of failure on the circular economy and in particular on four current, critical issues – plastic bans, household electronics, batteries and packaging. While the funding for reprocessing plants is welcome – this is just a part of the challenge. Grand statements and webpages are one thing – actual specific implementation along the entire life cycle is another – and the real test,’’ said Jeff Angel, Director of Total Environment Centre and the Boomerang Alliance of 55 NOGs.
‘’We don’t know if the apparent backtracking is a loss of commitment by the Environment Minister or push back by what is increasingly being seen as a timid department – or both.’’
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The Boomerang Alliance is calling for genuine and urgent progress, said Angel. He said it’s too important on environmental and economic grounds to slacken action. A national approach can use all available powers including on imports for a comprehensive life cycle solution. The four key areas of concern are:
- While the previous federal government failed to take action on its 2021 announced single-use plastic bans at the national level, the current government has not taken them up either. The items were – fragmentable plastic, loose fill and moulded polystyrene, PVC packaging labels. States are now left with a piecemeal approach.
- Removing small scale household electronics from a proposed product stewardship and recycling scheme, despite a predicted 30 per cent rise in e-waste by 2030.
- Not meeting the urgent need to protect the public and the waste collection and recycling industry from the growing threat of fires from waste batteries.Instead, several states rebelled and are taking unilateral action, yet limited by lack of access to national powers.
- Failure to meet deadlines on delivering new controls on packaging, including plastics; and an apparent walking back from previously announced support for mandating producer responsibility on the whole life cycle (design, used material collection, reprocessing and reuse).’’