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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 724 asked in the Legislative Council on 11 August 2020 by Hon Rick Mazza

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

CONTAINER DEPOSIT SCHEME

724. Hon RICK MAZZA to the Minister for Environment:

I refer to the state government's container deposit scheme operated by WA Return Recycle Renew Ltd, a not-for-profit organisation established by Lion and Coca-Cola Amatil, which is arguably the largest plastic polluter in the world.

(1) Other than being consistent with recycling schemes across Australia, why are milk and some glass bottles classified as ineligible containers?

(2) What recycling plan is in place for plastics once the container deposit scheme begins in October?

(3) What consultation was undertaken with employers in the existing recycling industry prior to the scheme's implementation?

(4) How many employees in the existing recycling industry are estimated to lose their jobs as a result of implementing the scheme?

(5) Will there be a diminished return on cans and bottles per kilogram for operators not involved with the scheme?

(6) What measures are in place to ensure that cans and bottles collected for the scheme will not be dumped in landfill, such as in an incident in Capel as recorded in The West Australian on 31 July this year?

Hon STEPHEN DAWSON replied:

I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. The premise of the preamble to the honourable member's question is incorrect. The scheme is not run by the beverage industry. WA Return Recycle Renew Ltd is appointed as the scheme coordinator. The Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007 contains provisions regarding the composition of the board of the scheme coordinator to ensure it is an impartial steward of the scheme in Western Australia.

(1) The scheme focuses on beverage containers mostly consumed away from home and not placed in domestic recycling bins. The list of eligible containers is aligned with that in other jurisdictions to support trade across borders.

(2) The scheme has a statutory requirement that all returned containers must be recycled. To deliver this, plastics processors have been appointed and an auction portal for the sale of plastics established. Information on recycling outcomes will be publicly available.

(3) Extensive consultation was undertaken through a container deposit scheme advisory group appointed to provide advice on the design and operation of the scheme. The group includes members of the recycling sector, such as the Australian Council of Recycling.

(4) The scheme is expected to create more than 500 jobs, including in the recycling industry, and has been designed to provide employment opportunities for people with disabilities, the long-term unemployed and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

(5) It is expected that there will be increased opportunities for recyclers as a result of the scheme. The arrangements for collection, processing and recycling of clean sorted materials maximise the price received for containers.

(6) Under the scheme, all containers will be collected, sorted, processed and recycled by specialist network operators, and the outcomes tracked electronically and publicly reported. From 1 October 2020, it will be an offence to dispose of returned containers in landfill sites.