Tasmania releases waste progress report and draft bill on climate change
A progress report on Tasmania’s waste initiatives has been released, along with a draft Bill which proposes legislating a target of net-zero by the end of 2030.
The report outlines the timeframe for key waste initiatives, including:
- investing in resource recovery sector to process more materials in Tasmania (ongoing)
- the introduction of Tasmania’s Container Deposit Scheme (commence in 2022)
- the introduction of a waste levy (collection from 1 July 2022)
- strategic planning for organic waste and waste infrastructure (late 2021 / early 2022)
- a state-wide ban on problematic single use plastics (2025)
- establishment of a Waste and Resource Recovery Board to develop and implement strategic plans
- improvements in the accuracy and level of reporting on waste and resource recovery (2022)
National Waste and Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC) CEO Rose Read said the progress report provided a good summary of the initiatives in place and demonstrated Tasmania’s commitment to proactively reduce waste and invest in the development of the resource recovery sector locally in line with national targets.
“The Container Deposit Scheme being introduced in Tasmania is the split model which NWRIC supports, where a Scheme Coordinator runs the administration and finance for the Scheme, while a separate Network Operator/s run the network of Refund Points.
“This system operates in NSW and the ACT and works well in driving a more sustainable circular economy by incentivising consumer behaviour.
“The introduction of a waste levy will further help divert recyclable materials from landfill but it is important that the levy collected is reinvested in waste and resource recovery activities and not diverted to general revenue.
“The timing for the phasing out and eventual banning of problematic single use plastics, however, seems out of sync with national and other state and territory timeframes, which is disappointing,” Ms Read said.
The draft Bill also released will review and amend the Climate Change (State Action) Act, bringing forward a previous goal of net zero by 2050. The Bill will also:
- require the development of tailored transition plans for the energy, industry, agriculture, forestry and waste sectors (though without setting sectoral emissions targets); and
- mandate the preparation of a five-yearly state climate change action plan, and a state-wide climate change risk assessment.
The government has also provided a response to the review of the Act.
NWRIC welcomes pledge by off road tyre importers to join Tyre Stewardship Australia
Major off-the-road (OTR) tyre importers Bearcat, Bridgestone Mining Solutions, Goodyear, Kal Tire, Michelin and Yokohama have committed to joining the voluntary Tyre Product Stewardship Scheme, Tyre Stewardship Australia has announced.
Tyre Stewardship Australia said the importers would contribute financially to the scheme and help find sustainable outcomes for OTR tyres that have reached their end-of-life in Australia.
The organisation also revealed that less than 15 percent of the 140,000 tonnes of OTR tyres sold in the Australian market each year are recovered as a resource, with the majority ending up buried on site, dumped or in landfill.
The National Waste and Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC) CEO Rose Read welcomed the commitment from the importers which will commence from January 2022.
“This is a very positive step forward by tyre producers to commit to recover more tyres and prevent them from being illegally dumped or stockpiled posing a fire risk or being lost to landfill.
“The waste and recycling sector looks forward to working with the tyre industry in recovering and reusing these tyres, keeping the materials in the economy and out of the environment,” Ms Read said.
More information is available at Tyre Stewardship Australia
‘The future of plastics and the circular economy’- Society of Plastics Engineers annual conference
The Society of Plastics Engineers Australia-New Zealand Section will hold its Annual Conference on “Plastics and the Circular Economy – The Virtual Edition” virtually and spread over 4 days from 15-19 November.
National Waste and Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC) CEO Rose Read will present at the conference on Tuesday 16 November at 11am on Circular plastics – how sharing the risk across the supply chain is making a difference.
The focus of the session will be on the progress with making recycled content available for the packaging industry and its supporting technologies and infrastructure.
Other speakers include:
- Professor Edward Kosior, Nextek, UK and Australia
- Garance Boullenger, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, UK
- Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, the Hon. Trevor Evans, MP, by video
- Brooke Donnelly, CEO, Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, Sydney, NSW
- Andrew Smith, Executive General Manager, PACT Recycling and Demand Creation, VIC
- Steve Alexander, President and CEO, Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), USA
NWRIC and its affiliate members will receive a reduced fee to attend, please contact Rose Read ceo@nwric.com.au for more details.