Waste recycling framework Bills now before Parliament

Landmark legislation establishing a national industry
relationship framework for recycling was introduced in Federal Parliament this
week.

The Recycling and Waste Reduction Bill 2020 (and associated
provisions) will also authorise the progressive implementation of bans on waste
plastic, paper, glass and tyre exports.

Australia presently exports around 645,000 tonnes of
processed plastic, paper, glass and tyres every year – a situation Prime Minister
Scott Morrison has described as untenable.

“We’ve got to deal with it and recycle it and repurpose it
and reuse it here to both drive jobs in the recycling sector and improve the
quality of our environment,” he said this week.

The legislation also will pave the way for reforms to the
regulation of product stewardship to incentivise companies to take greater
environmental responsibility for the products they manufacture and what happens
to those products and materials at the end of their life.

Click here to read the Bill and the Explanatory Memorandum.