Western Australians are amoung the biggest consumers of resources in the world and one of the biggest factors contributing to this unsustainable consumption is the lack of recycling activity here in WA. Just about everything we throw away can potentially be recycled, but in WA we send thousands of tonnes of packaging, building materials and other valuable resources to rubbish dumps around the state every year.
According to the WA WAste Authority, less than a third of the waste we produce in WA ends up being recycled – this is the lowest in the nation. Much of this wast stream is toxic or hazardous, including thousands of tonnes of electronic waste and other hazardous waste generated by industry.
With waste management and recycling in crisis in Western Australia, action is urgently needed by government and industry.
Extended Producer Responsibility
It is no longer acceptable that manufacturers of consumer goods produce products that cannot be recycled, but pose a toxic waste hazard in the environment where they end up. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a way of shifting the responsibility for waste management back to the producers of the products that cause the waste. This will lead to better designed products that use less resources and have a reduced environmental impact at the end of their useful life.
There are many types of EPR schemes sucessfully operating all over the world, include ‘take-back’ programs for computers and e-waste, deposit-refund schemes for beverage containers, ‘advance disposal fees’ for tyres and labelling requirements for packaging.
Western Australia has ‘umbrella’ EPR legislation, empowering the Waste Authority to identify problem wastes and to require producers to develop EPR schemes for these wastes. So far, the Authority has not taken action to develop any EPR schemes.
Recycling Refund for Cans and Bottles
Placing a 10cent recycling refund on bottles and cans is the best way the State Government can lift recycling rates almost overnight. Where around 20% of drink containers are recycled in WA, this figure is closer to 90% in South Australia due to their 10cent recycing refund scheme.
Polling shows that over 90% of Western Australians support a Recycing Refund Scheme. Local Governments also strongly support a 10c deposit on beverage containers because it will increase the efficiency of kerbside recycling and reduce cleanup costs for litter.
To date, big beverage companies including Coke and Fosters have worked to prevent a recycing refund scheme from being put in place in WA and many other parts of the world. These companies employ lobbyists and use other tactics to avoid taking responsibility for the waste they produce.
CCWA is building community suport for a Recycing Refund Scheme in WA