www.insidewaste.com.au
ISSUE 100 | FEB/MAR 2021
INSIDE 26 AWRE Conference 40 Wastewater 43 Young Professional
How Indonesia plans to be plastic-free by 2040
All industry stakeholders need to work together to genuinely close the loop on packaging in Australia by using Australian recycled products.
Plastic problem is not business as usual the packaging industry’s efforts are ineffective in managing the issue. She told Inside Waste that the strong support for the amendment to the Bill was an indication of a desire within the Australian community to deal with the packaging problem. “While it is disappointing that the amendment fell through on a single vote, it is heartening to see growing consensus that we need to do more to tackle the packaging that we consume and dispose of. “What we have seen to-date is strong community support for action. Real action to be taken to tackle packaging and create jobs in Australia. “The message is clear,” Sloan said. “The business-as-usual approach is not acceptable anymore. Australians deserve more than a continuation of a voluntary, packaging industry-led scheme that has made little, if any, progress.”
Senate didn’t understand Sloan pointed to the “real opportunities to close the loop domestically”. She said that this could be achieved by building
local businesses, driving new industries, job creation, and environmental protection. “It is disappointing that some in the Senate did not understand that. However, it is extremely encouraging to see the level of support for change.” However, Sloan is not without suggestions on how to move forward. “With the export bans coming in shortly, and the need to meet national targets, WMRR is urging all governments to think about how we can tackle packaging with the limited and voluntary tools that we’ve been given. “WMRR proposes that it’s time to set up a genuinely independent body truly representative of all stakeholders in the supply chain, including but not limited to the packaging industry, to find productive ways in which we can work together to genuinely close the loop on packaging in Australia by using Australian recycled products. “This is key if we are serious about making real progress while being hamstrung by the lack of regulation on the packaging industry,” she added. (Continued on page 22)
PP: 100024538
ISSN 1837-5618
ON DECEMBER 8, 2020, the Recycling and Waste Reduction Bill was passed in the Senate without amendment. Despite a senate inquiry into the Bill and attempts by the Greens and Labor, the amendments to the Bill that would address plastic pollution and support the recycling sector did not pass. This has resulted in concern within the WARR industry that the government’s commitment to the massive problem of plastic pollution remains fragile despite its assurances and organisation of the first National Plastic Summit in Canberra, prior to COVID-19. Much of the frustration around the failure of the amendment has been focused on the continual reliance on the packaging industry to self-regulate. Despite this industry’s best efforts to address this issue (Inside Waste covered the Australian Institute of Packaging’s Virtual Conference and the APCO initiatives in depth during 2020), plastic recyling rate has only moved by two per cent since 2018, according to the latest APCO report. WMRR CEO, Gayle Sloan is one WARR leader who has consistently argued
WHILE INDONESIA is one of the biggest contributors to the plastic pollution in the ocean, this situation became exacerbated after China banned waste imports and the country emerged as a major portal for global plastic waste. Now its landfills are running out of space with Indonesia’s largest landfill, Bantar Gebang (the only one serving Jakarta) predicted to run out of space this year, according to government officials. Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs of Indonesia Luhut B. Pandjaitan told the World Economic Forum, “In our cities, our waterways and our coastlines, the accumulation of toxic plastic waste is harming our food systems and the health of our people. “Our booming fishing industry, the second-largest in the world, is under threat from rising levels of marine plastic debris. By 2025, the amount of plastic waste leaking into our oceans could increase to 800,000 tonnes – if no action is taken,” he said. Despite this gloomy scenario, the country has developed a strategy which was presented at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos last year. Here the world took a first look at Indonesia’s plan, with a radical target to cut marine plastic debris by 70 per cent within the next five years. (Continued on page 24)
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