A new paper released by Australia’s peak recycling body is calling for industry reforms as industry and government continue to put product stewardship responsibility on producers.
The paper titled Recyclers in Product Stewardship: Challenges, priorities, and recommendations from the recycling sector renewed the Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR)’s calls for businesses and government to take on “genuine recycling outcomes”.
“While product stewardship and extended producer responsibility can be an effective way to reduce waste and lift recycling rates, their efficacy hinges on robust collaboration with recyclers,” a statement from the association said.
Instead, businesses needed to:
- realign product stewardship with circular economy principles
- enhance material recovery and encourage design for recycling and reuse
- start creating demand for recycled materials
- enhance collection infrastructure and consumer incentives
- implement governance that is accountable and transparent across the entire supply chain – including product stewardship schemes
- ensure compliance with regulatory framework for resource recycling
ACOR chief executive Suzanne Toumbourou said that recycling initiatives were often “sidelined” in both “establishment” and “ongoing operations” despite being critical in the success of product stewardship initiatives.
“Recyclers must have a real seat at the table if these product stewardship schemes are to work for all Australians and our environment,” Ms Toumbourou said.
“There is a concerning trend among product stewardship schemes to lean heavily on collection of end-of-use products while neglecting the critical aspects of fostering high-value processing and markets for recycled material,
“It is imperative to recalibrate these schemes to prioritise holistic recycling and circular economy outcomes.”
Last year the collapse of REDcycle left supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths scrambling for plastic recycling solutions. The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority later drafted estimated fines of around $3.5 million after the scandal exposed the two for stockpiling more than 5200 metric tonnes of soft plastic across 15 warehouses in NSW.
The project left the nation calling on the government to enact its own National Plastics Recycling Scheme. During an interview, the National Food and Grocery Council revealed to TFE that it had already started working with local councils to modernise facilities and better sort plastic across 7000 households.
Meanwhile businesses and governments have been urged to re-evaluate their existing product stewardship mechanisms and take on recommendations set out in the paper to achieve national waste reduction and recycling targets.
“Too often, cost reduction is prioritised over quality recycling outcomes in such schemes. Not only does this undermine legitimate recycling operations, but it also erodes community confidence in recycling when the system fails,” said the paper.