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.