The federal government’s ban on the export of mixed plastic waste has come into effect today, with industry leaders confirming support for a staged series of export bans that will see the transformation of Australia's recycling industry.
This stage of the ban will end the export of 75,000 tonnes of baled mixed plastic each year, with further bans to come into play down the track. It's estimated that the transformation of Australia’s recycling industry will contribute to 10,000 new jobs over the next ten years.
Major organisations that have come out in support of the ban include Cleanaway, Pact Group and the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia.
“Mixed plastics are the roughly sorted bundles of bottles and containers packed into shipping containers that we have often seen turned away from foreign ports in recent years due to contamination issues,” Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said. “This is about taking responsibility for our waste, creating economic opportunity and helping our environment."
The government has been consulting widely with industry and is investing with state and territory governments and with individual businesses to grow domestic capacity.
According to Minister Ley, recent surveys identify that there is already annual spare capacity of just over 160,000 tonnes at 52 of Australia’s operational plastics processing facilities to meet this demand and that capacity is growing.
“At the same time 26 plastics projects are already being co-funded by the Morrison Government’s $600 million Recycling Modernisation Fund, bringing an additional processing capacity of 163,721 tonnes a year on-line, with more announcements to come,” she said.
“The major industry parties have signed up to the timetable along with the State and Territory governments, and everyone has known that this has been coming for some time.”
There is some synergy with the ban coming into force at the start of Plastics Free July, and as major retailers like Coles and Woolworths and restaurant chains like McDonald’s announce the removal of more single use plastics from their shelves and stores.
“While there may be a few others who are slow to adjust, the broader industry is firmly behind where we are going,” Minister Ley said.
Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, Trevor Evans, said that as the staged export ban comes into place the government is already helping to drive new markets for recycled material by investing in new technologies, industry-led product stewardship schemes and sustainable procurement strategies.
“Increasingly, major infrastructure and building projects will offer more and more opportunities to consume plastics and other recycled products in roads, highway sound barriers, railway sleepers, bollards, boardwalks and outdoor furniture,” he said.
According to Evans, the government is also looking to use its purchasing power to increase demand for recycled products. Already the Defence Department is using recycled plastic in various asphalt projects, and recycled construction waste from the WestConnex motorway is being used in Western Sydney International Airport’s runways, taxiways and road base.
“This export ban is about a complete change of mindset when it comes to what we used to call waste and our attitudes to buying something that has been ‘recycled’.
Major waste management services group Cleanaway said it has worked with the federal government to ensure it is ready for the 1 July export ban, noting that the government has invested significantly in the waste sector through the Recycling Modernisation Fund to make sure it has the right reprocessing infrastructure to support a domestic circular economy.
Gayle Sloan, CE) of Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia, said, “Industry supports these bans and appreciates the once in a lifetime funding opportunity that government at levels have invested in our industry which would not have happened in the absence of the ban and strong federal government leadership.
“The reality is that these are complicated projects that have a development time frames of one to two years. Industry has already moved considerably and is processing substantially more on shore with funded plans for additional infrastructure in coming months.”
Sanjay Dayal, CEO of Pact Group applauded the government for upholding the ban. He said, “Pact, through industry partnerships, is investing over $200M in the construction of state-of-the-art plastics recycling facilities around Australia. Waste export bans coupled with APCO targets requiring brand owners to use recycled plastic back in packaging gives industry confidence to invest in local processing infrastructure. We are ready for the regulatory changes which are due to come into effect.”
