At the recent Council of Australian Governments (COAG) general meeting, COAG agreed Australia should establish a timeline to ban the export of waste plastic, paper, glass and tyres while building Australia's capacity to generate high value recycled commodities.
They tasked Environment Ministers to advise on a proposed timetable and response strategy following consultation with industry and other stakeholders. Leaders agreed the strategy must seek to reduce waste, especially plastics, decrease the amount of waste going to landfill and maximise the capability of our waste management and recycling sector to collect, recycle, reuse, convert and recover waste.
LGAQ's Lead for public health and waste, Robert Ferguson, said it was a move in the right direction,
"Although this is a positive step in progressing this important agenda and the numerous opportunities this presents, local councils will continue to look towards both the Federal and State government for leadership to progress this matter."
"Councils require both tiers of government to show leadership in these key agendas with a goal of creating and strengthening local and regional processing and remanufacturing opportunities. This requires both funding and clear policy alignment to progress this agenda."
"The importance of this agenda is heightened by the recent announcement of the collapse of SKM Recycling in Victoria that has affected over 30 Victorian councils. Although this has received considerable media attention across Australia, SKM does not have a similar presence in Queensland and as such councils are not directly impacted from this outcome."
Find out more on the ABC news website.