AIEN Submission to the Victorian Inquiry into Recycling and Waste Management

10 May 2019 | Submission

On 6 March 2019, the Legislative Council agreed to the following motion:

That this house requires the Environment and Planning Committee to inquire into, consider and provide an urgent interim report, as the committee deems necessary, on the current circumstances in municipal and industrial recycling and waste management, and provide a final report, by Tuesday, 13 August 2019, on the crisis in Victoria’s recycling and waste management system, partly resulting from the China waste importation ban, including, but not limited to:

  1. the responsibility of the Victorian government to establish and maintain a coherent, efficient and environmentally responsible approach to solid waste management across the state, including assistance to local councils;
  2. whether the China National Sword policy was anticipated and responded to properly;
  3. identifying short and long-term solutions to the recycling and waste management system crisis, taking into account:
    1. the need to avoid dangerous stockpiling and ensure recyclable waste is actually being recycle
    2. the cleaning and sorting capabilities and the processing capabilities in Victoria and the potential to expand the local recycling industry
    3. how to better enable the use of recycled materials in local manufacturing;
    4. the existing business model and economic challenges facing the existing industry;
    5. the quantifiable benefits, including job creation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, of pursuing elements of a circular economy in Victoria;
    6. the existing Sustainability Fund and how it can be used to fund solutions to the waste crisis;
  4. strategies to reduce waste generation and better manage all waste such as soft plastics, compostable paper and pulp, and commercial waste, including, but not limited to:
    1. product stewardship;
    2. container deposit schemes;
    3. banning single-use plastics;
    4. government procurement policies
  5. relevant reviews, inquiries and reports into the waste and recycling industry in other Australian jurisdictions and internationally;
  6. any other related matters.