Australia’s leading waste management advocate has issued a call to action to the country’s Federal government. The Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA) has taken the initiative in calling for the Federal Government to make concrete management and recycling plans for the next 12 years.
We at Best Price Skip Bins fully support the WMAA in its stance on the future of resource recovery across the country. The last national steer for the industry was published in 2009, and we and the WMAA believe it is essential this is updated as soon as possible.
Essential Update
A recent consultation paper produced six targets which the WMAA believes are achievable and should be the focus of national waste management efforts. If the government takes heed of these targets, the Association believes Australia will make real progress in becoming a circular economy by 2030. This means we will reprocess the vast majority of our waste and keep our consumption to a minimum.
The WMAA believes that the 2009 National Waste Policy is out of date and unambitious. The last decade or so have seen economic, environmental and technological changes which have both thrown up new challenges and present new opportunities.
The bold challenges presented in the consultation paper include a total waste production reduction of 10% in Australia. For a developed country, that is a significant figure. As well as this, the WMAA believes we as a country should be able to recover 80% of the resources we use with efficient waste recycling.
Another headline target is to stop using persistent and unnecessary plastics. The impact of these has been brought to the world’s attention recently, but as a country surrounded by ocean we have been aware of it longer than most. The impact of plastics is one particular issue which is more pressing than was realised in 2009.
National Leadership For Waste Management
While there are measures in place in the country’s states and territories, the WMAA believes a truly national waste management strategy is essential. With this in mind, it wants the Federal Government to lead the conversation rather than react to individual state and industry inputs. The Association points to the success of European Union initiatives in the field which cut across state legislatures.
The national government has access to detailed information about the benefits and costs of waste management. The WMAA believes it should use this as a solid base to introduce robust targets for future resource recovery. It has the authority to obtain information from agencies at all levels involved in waste management.
The Federal Government is also in a position to introduce tax incentives for operators to invest in recovery rather than relying on landfill. It can, as a minimum, insist on extended producer responsibility in allowing imports. This carrot and stick approach is standard in other industries and has been proved to work in waste management in the EU.
Further Details
We at Best Price Skip Bins back the WMAA in its call for national leadership in the waste management and recovery industry. For more information, see the link at:
https://wastemanagementreview.com.au/wmaa-calls-federal-govt-leadership-waste