Veolia’s Five-Point Plan to Make Australia a Recycling Superpower

Like many working in the recycling and waste sector, I’ve been closely tracking Australia’s progress against the Government’s 2030 waste targets and helping to make them happen. So, the recent release of the National Waste Policy Action Plan Review has left me with mixed emotions.

I’m feeling we have achieved so much, yet we are falling short of our goals – and in some cases, regressing. I firmly believe that we can turn this mothership around, but we need a step change.

I would like to push this message – we must be bold if we are to accelerate our journey towards a circular economy. It’s doesn’t have to be complex, in fact I think there are as little five key policy triggers that could rapidly position Australia as a leader in sustainable waste management:

Introduce higher waste levies and standardise them across the country; which will immediately incentivise less waste, more reuse and repair, as well as recycling, recovery and depollution.
Accelerate development approvals for waste infrastructure to allow 1 to go faster.
Reverse export bans on recycled resources as they have created perverse outcomes such as preventing more recycling from happening.
Level the playing field through economy wide product stewardship legislation – this means mandatory reuse, repair and recycling design for all.
Introduce a carbon price for all landfills, regardless of size, because at the moment less than 1% of landfills are impacted by the safeguard mechanism andAustralian emissions will go up unless this changes!

These moves are real, and proven tactics and strategies that have yielded results in other parts of the world. We just have to copy and adapt them.

Take extended producer responsibility (EPR) – when combined with appropriate levies, it ensures that every product has a viable end-of-life recovery route, promoting reuse, repair, and recycling.

We need to think big. Small-scale innovations and voluntary schemes, while commendable, won’t be enough to meet our ambitious 2030 targets, or those set in the future. We require system-wide change, driven by policies that create a ripe ground for investment in recycling infrastructure, and foster markets for recovered resources.

The renewable energy sector has shown us what’s possible with the right government support. Now, it’s time to apply that same level of commitment to waste management and recycling.

I’m ready to invest in Australia’s sustainable future and I know others are too. But to do this, we need to be confident in policy settings and to have the rules in place.

Let’s not be the generation that stopped at making token efforts like switching to paper straws! Instead, let’s be the ones who actually revolutionised waste management – by recycling more, by building things more sustainably so they can be repurposed after use, by adopting energy from waste technology, and by introducing levies for landfills where it makes sense.
A longer more comprehensive article can be viewed on the Veolia website.

Richard Kirkman
Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director
Veolia Australia & New Zealand