Five of the largest companies in the Australian waste management and recycling sector have agreed to establish the National Waste & Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC).
The NWRIC will embrace the views of companies with direct investments in the waste management, recycling and resource recovery industry.
Waste management is an essential service and the sector contributes significantly to the Australian economy and the protection of the environment. However, national industry representation in the past has been fragmented and lacks a national approach.
The NWRIC will act as the industry’s national policy setting body and represent the interests of the waste management and resource recovery activities across Australia. This includes all aspects of waste management including waste collection, storage, transfer, sorting, treatment, processing and disposal.
The NWRIC will develop a national advocacy agenda that will promote best practice operations and strive for greater harmonisation of waste and resource recovery legislation across the Australia.
“We need an organisation to truly represent the interests of the waste management and recycling industry and look at multi-jurisdictional matters but one that can also deliver strong state based advocacy,” said Council representative Max Spedding.
The foundation members of NWRIC are Cleanaway, JJ Richards, Remondis, SUEZ and Veolia.
An open invitation was extended yesterday to other waste and recycling companies with a national presence to join the Council.
The NWRIC will support the continued development of strong waste and recycling industry representation in each state and special interests areas. State and specialist organisations will also be offered a representative position on the Council.
“The NWRIC will truly be the national voice of the waste and recycling industry bringing together all players, big and small, to positively advocate for our sector,” Max Spedding added.