Local government ready to help turn our waste crisis into a billion-dollar economic opportunity

The Australian Local Government
Association (ALGA) has hailed the Federal Government’s National Plastics Plan
2021 as an important milestone on the road to a more environmentally and
economically sustainable future.

Released following long-standing ALGA
advocacy for stronger action on national waste reduction and recycling, the
plan will help achieve many of the 2020 National Waste Policy Action Plan
targets endorsed by Australia’s Environment Ministers.

ALGA President Linda Scott said:
“Better waste management represents a billion-dollar economic opportunity for
Australia.

“Done well, it will lead to a greater
recovery of valuable and finite resources, create thousands of new jobs, and
protect fragile ecosystems from the scourge of single-use plastics.”

“We broadly welcome this plan as an
opportunity for the Commonwealth to better engage with and enable local
government to make further progress on managing waste sustainably and
responsibly,” Cr Scott said.

Australia’s 537 local councils manage
around 26 percent of Australian waste annually, either directly or through
contractual arrangements.

Each year, local governments collect
around 9.7 million tonnes of waste from kerbside bin services, sort it at
material recovery facilities (MRFs), and dispatch what can be recycled to
reprocessing facilities. The cost to councils is an estimated $3.5 billion
annually.

The Federal Government’s commitment to
the National Plastic plan includes:

• Phasing out problematic and
  unnecessary plastics such as expanded polystyrene (EPS);
• Working with industry to
  deliver national packaging targets;
• Investing in new plastics
  product stewardship schemes; and
• Strengthening Commonwealth
  procurement rules to kickstart demand and an initial “pull-through” for
  recycled materials.

A further commitment by the Federal
Government to “work with the states and territories to harmonise kerbside
recycling collection” has, however, raised concerns across local government.

Creating the same bins for every area
of Australia without significant additional funding for local governments is
not a practical way to achieve increased recycling,” Cr Scott said

“A one-size-fits-all approach assumes
Australian homes are the same size and ignores the reality that Materials
Recovery Facilities vary enormously in capacity and capability across
Australia.

“Bins that are designed for the Port
Macquarie-Hastings local government area may not be the best fit for the Town
of Port Hedland,” she said.

Besides managing the collection of
nearly 10 million tonnes of household waste annually, local government also
dedicates resources to administering community waste-education programs, collecting
litter, addressing illegal rubbish dumping, and ensuring compliance with waste
bylaws.

“Councils are proud to do all we can to
support reducing waste and boosting recycling and stand ready to do more when
funded by the Commonwealth,” Cr Scott said.

“I will continue to advocate for the
Commonwealth to leverage its funding to states and territories and industry to
maximise recycling to create jobs and reduce waste costs for our communities,”
she added.

ENDS