‘Polluter pays’ for resource efficiency and less litter in our streets

Clean Up Australia is a firm believer in the ‘polluter pays’ model for products and packaging. With a recent study by CSIRO indicating that over half of branded plastic pollution is linked to just 56 companies worldwide, [1] there is a clear need for implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, which would see producers funding and taking responsibility for the lifecycle of materials they place on the market.

Vital to the successful implementation of producer responsibility is regulation. Regulation – that is, legislated requirements through policy– is necessary to ensure all brands are directly accountable for meeting reduction, recovery and recycled content targets, and that they are footing the bill! It’s also important for standardising requirements across the board.

Container Deposit Schemes (CDS) are a successful example of producer responsibility in Australia, wherein good policy has created functional schemes. For Clean Up Australia, the results are visible in our Litter Report, which show that in NSW, beverage container litter levels had reduced from 28.7% in 2017 to 15.9% in 2023 – following commencement of the NSW CDS in 2017.[2] Policy could be further utilised to harmonise CDS across the states and territories. Independent regulators of schemes are also important to ensure businesses are meeting obligations fairly.

If we are to learn from the short-lived REDcycle scheme, it’s that procurement of domestic end-markets is vital to ensure viable pathways for recycled content to be sold. Our Litter Report shows that soft plastics represented 34.1% of counted litter in FY23. [3] For Clean Up Australia, product stewardship – in the form of mandatory, industry-led regulatory schemes – holds potential to reduce wasted resources and reduce the incidence of plastics and litter found in our streets, parks, waterways and beaches.

[1] CSIRO (2024). Global Producer Responsibility for Plastic Pollution. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj8275

[2] Clean Up Australia (2023). Litter Report FY23.  https://irp.cdn-website.com/ed061800/files/uploaded/CleanUpAustralia-LitterReportFY23-FINAL.pdf

[3] Clean Up Australia (2023). Litter Report FY23. https://irp.cdn-website.com/ed061800/files/uploaded/CleanUpAustralia-LitterReportFY23-FINAL.pdf