Legislation that sees Australia take responsibility for its waste and establishes a national industry framework for recycling has been introduced.
Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley said The Recycling and Waste Reduction Bill 2020 would phase-in the end of the 645,000 tonnes of unprocessed plastic, paper, glass and tyres that Australia shipped overseas each year.
“At the same time the reforms to the regulation of product stewardship will incentivise companies to take greater environmental responsibility for the products they manufacture,” Ms Ley said.
“This is about tackling a national environmental issue that has been buried in landfill or shipped offshore for far too long,” she said.
Ms Ley said this was a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to remodel waste management, reduce pressure on our environment and create economic opportunity.
She said Australia could move to a circular economy with a strong market for recycled materials.
Ms Ley said the Bill would see the implementation of the export ban on waste plastic, paper, glass and tyres agreed by Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments in March this year.
“Our $190 million Recycling Modernisation Fund and our actions under the National Waste Policy Action Plan will create 10,000 new jobs over the next 10 years – that is a 32 per cent increase in jobs in the Australian waste and recycling sector,” the Minister said.
