SINGLE-USE PLASTICS
559. Hon
TJORN SIBMA to the minister representing the Minister for Environment:
Thank you, President, for giving me
the call. I did not think I was going to get the opportunity, to be honest.
This question is dated 17 August
and just for reference is C542.
I refer to Premier's
Circular 2018/03 headed ''Reducing the Use of Disposable Plastic''.
(1) Have
agency-level sustainable procurement practices been monitored by the Department
of Water and Environmental Regulation in the three years following the
publication of the Premier's circular?
(2) Has performance been recorded
against the two minimum criteria —
(a) replacing commonly purchased single-use plastic
products with recyclable, compostable or re-usable alternatives; and
(b) reviewing
existing agency contracts to achieve better pricing and discussing
opportunities with suppliers to substitute plastic products with re-usable and
compostable products?
(3) If yes to (1) and (2), what are the results?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by
the Minister for Environment.
(1)–(3) In
2020, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation circulated a survey
to agencies and entities subject to the Premier's circular to
understand current plastic procurement practices. Responses from 46 agencies
identified common plastics procured, solutions in place and assistance needed
to source alternatives. Directors general
and chief executive officers are responsible for compliance with the Premier's
circular and making responsible decisions about the use of disposable plastic
products. The Department of Finance is responsible for common-use agreements
for the purchasing of non-plastic alternatives. The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation has provided advice to
the Department of Finance on the agreement to improve sustainability criteria.
The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is also assisting with
developing standard clauses for inclusion in agreements and agency tenders to
support improved purchasing practices.
In addition, the Department of Water
and Environmental Regulation is developing materials to support government
agencies to reduce plastic procurement. This includes —
(i) a sustainable procurement guide for state
government agency use. The guide will include preferred procurement
options and management of re-usable and single-use compostable alternatives as
well as best practice waste disposal;
(ii) support for
agencies to undertake audits of their single-use plastic procurement practices
to gain accurate data on single-use plastic consumption and recycling;
(iii) the
development of education materials to support agencies communicate more
sustainable procurement practices—for example, checklists, product
guides and case studies; and
(iv) assisting
agencies to develop tools that are measurable to evaluate the effectiveness of
the circular's implementation.