Australia’s recycling crisis: is the government’s $190m on new infrastructure worth it?

It slipped by reasonably quietly amid the Covid-19 chaos, but earlier this month the Coalition government received something it has found hard to come by in its nearly seven years in power – praise on an environmental issue. The praise was qualified, and could yet be retracted. It followed the environment minister, Sussan Ley, announcing the government would spend $190m on new recycling infrastructure, saying it would help divert 10,000 tonnes of plastic, paper and glass waste from landfill. The funding is expected to be matched by the states, though the breakdown of that is yet to be explained, and by the waste industry, forming a $600m “recycling modernisation fund” to help build infrastructure Australia needs to sort rubbish so that it is not contaminated and can be turned into useful products. The government also said it planned to change laws covering “product stewardship”, which are meant to ensure manufacturers and retailers take responsibility for the products they sell once they become waste. It said companies that failed to comply would be “named and shamed” and it would become easier for consumers to recycle electronic goods. Grants were promised from a $20m fund to help businesses take greater responsibility for… Read full this story

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