Additional comments by Senator Peter Whish-Wilson

1.1Fundamentally, these bills have modest goals to restore a deficit that has been borne by the taxpayer. This is supported by industry representatives, and we welcome their positive engagement on this issue. The amendments will resolve a very real problem and release a burden of cost from taxpayers.

1.2In relation to paragraph 1.41, the Australian Greens support the recommendation that the bills be passed.

1.3Two industry representative groups – Southern Oil and the Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR) – made submissions to the inquiry. We also contacted other stakeholders to garner input on the bills. All agreed that the bills were welcome but noted that the amendments do not extend to enhancing the recycling of oil.

1.4We note that the submissions from Southern Oil and ACOR called for extending changes to increasing recycling benefits. We have concerns that any such changes might place a burden of risk on the taxpayer, and would need much greater scrutiny to examine how the scheme could be improved without adding pressure on either consumers or taxpayers.

1.5Paragraph 1.13 highlights how incentives, used properly, have a role in promoting industry changes in environmental practice.

1.6However, incentives may only go so far to resolve the issue of recycling. While the Product Stewardship for Oil (PSO) Scheme has been successful in terms of generating a significant level of recycling, it is limited by reliance on incentives to drive industry change. The Deloitte report highlighted that market saturation would be reached at no more than 65 per cent.[1]

1.7Australia needs regulated schemes that will deliver clear and enforceable obligations on producers and importers. We cannot afford situations like the REDcycle program collapse to develop, where members of schemes might tout their environmental credentials without any accountability for the materials collected. To tolerate this practice would be to endorse greenwashing.

1.8The Australian Greens draw attention to recent comments from groups such as Boomerang Alliance, the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) and Reloop, who called for avoiding schemes that place the burden on consumers, and instead putting equal or greater focus on waste avoidance and minimization at the design and production stages, and on end market development including the use of Australian recycled materials.[2]

1.9Not for the first time, the Labor Government appears to be amending legislation without applying it to a wider strategic goal. The amendments do not resolve, in a policy sense, circular economy principles, and will not promote recycling beyond the rate that is currently being attained.

1.10The Labor government has not provided a rationale for the changes in the context of building a circular economy. Even if the threshold suggested by Deloitte was reached, the government has not explained how it intends to bridge the gap of an additional 35 per cent in recycling to achieve circularity.

1.11It will not be feasible to meet circular economy principles without some form of regulation. The Australian Greens acknowledge the reluctance of both the Labor government and some industry bodies to accept regulated, legally binding, mandatory targets as a primary means of delivering meaningful change. However, it is clear from other product stewardship schemes, such as packaging, that a reliance on voluntary systems is insufficient.

1.12Mandatory targets, with a suite of other measures such as incentives, will be needed to meet circular economy goals.

1.13These bills resolve a targeted problem that has required resolution, but they are not aligned with a wider strategic goal. The Labor government should be explicit in how it intends to not simply increase recycling, but drive greater changes in industry practice that will deliver better outcomes and a circular economy.

Senator Peter Whish-Wilson

Australian Greens Senator for Tasmania

Footnotes

[1]Deloitte Access Economics, Fourth Product Stewardship (Oil) Act 2000 review - Final report, 11December 2020, p. 9.

[2]See: Boomerang Alliance, 2025 National Packaging Targets – it is enough?,www.boomerangalliance.org.au/2025_national_packaging_targets_is_it_enough (accessed 13 June 2023), Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia, ‘On World Environment Day, WMRR Calls for a Comprehensive Mandated EPR Scheme for Soft Plastics in Australia’, Media Release, 5 June 2023.