Parliamentary Committees

Environment, Resources and Development Committee: RECYCLING industry

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:56): I move:

That the fourth report of the committee on the Inquiry into the Recycling Industry be noted.

On 13 May 2019, the Environment, Resources and Development Committee resolved to conduct an inquiry into the impact of China's national Sword policy on South Australia's waste management industry and whether it caused or at least contributed to a crisis in the state's waste management. China's national Sword policy affirmed that China will be restricting the importation of certain kinds of solid waste and limiting contamination of those materials to less than 0.5 per cent. This has impacted upon the waste management of several countries, including Australia.

Following the shift in policy, Indonesia and Malaysia indicated that they would be adopting similar policy positions. To better understand the implications of China's national Sword policy, the committee sought to engage with South Australia's waste management and resource recovery industry and its key stakeholders. The committee, therefore, considered a wide range of evidence from 54 submissions and 39 witnesses. It also visited waste management and resource recovery sites in the northern and north-western metropolitan areas, conducted regional visits to Whyalla and the South-East and convened public hearings in Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Millicent and Whyalla.

When the committee resolved to commence this inquiry, the federal government, along with governments from other jurisdictions, including of course our own in South Australia, were already responding to the challenges posed by China's new restrictions on the importation of waste. The Victorian parliament and the Australian Senate both launched parliamentary inquiries, with a further Senate inquiry commencing in October 2019. This hastened a National Waste Policy, published in 2018, and a National Waste Action Plan, released in 2019, to facilitate reaching the targets outlined in the National Waste Policy.

In 2019, a meeting of environment ministers from around the country committed to a ban on certain types of waste being exported. At a state level, the South Australian government commenced a review of South Australia's innovative container deposit scheme, introduced its Single-use and Other Plastics Products (Waste Avoidance) Bill 2019, published an Energy From Waste discussion paper and released its draft waste strategy for 2020-25 consultation.

The committee was encouraged by the fact that governments across all jurisdictions were dedicated to addressing the legislative and policy challenges that have been facing the industry for many years and that the federal government was taking the lead in coordinating a national approach through the meeting of environment ministers. As a result of this inquiry, the committee found that there was a desire from stakeholders to decouple the state from external markets and to deliver self-sufficiency for future generations.

Witnesses and submissions broadly supported a waste management and resource recovery industry based on a circular economy model. This is a systemic approach to economic development designed to benefit businesses, society and the environment. In contrast to the 'take-make-waste' linear model, a circular economy is regenerative by design and aims to gradually decouple growth from the consumption of finite resources.

The committee found it was imperative that any such transition be supported by economic and legislative tools to encourage best practice, strategic planning and action that is underpinned by a better understanding of product and packaging flows. In the context of a circular economy model, it was important to consider generating energy from the primary treatment of waste and also to consider the best possible use for waste.

Finally, submitters and witnesses widely recommended that government policy focus on the creation of local markets for recyclable and recycled products. It is important to note that in late 2019 and early 2020, this inquiry's momentum was disrupted considerably as Australia experienced severe bushfires in every state including, of course, those here in South Australia. The damage of these bushfires was closely followed by the COVID-19 global pandemic and associated socio-economic restrictions that we are still experiencing, of course.

State and local government resources have, understandably, gone towards dealing with these unanticipated and quite traumatic events. This has meant that the committee's findings and recommendations for the industry, whilst important, must now be viewed from the perspective of post-bushfire and pandemic recovery situations. COVID-19 has also revealed the challenges associated with fragile global supply chains and business models, making some of the committee’s recommendations to support the domestic waste management and resource recovery industry even more pertinent.

The committee's findings, such as moving the South Australian economy towards a circular model for waste management, were well supported by stakeholders and are consistent with a post COVID-19 recovery plan for South Australia. However, success for the waste management and resource recovery industry is likely to be contingent upon a collaboratively developed statewide strategy and action plan that is embedded within nationally agreed objectives. The committee makes 16 recommendations in its report, which I believe will address many of the issues raised through the consultation process.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the stakeholders who gave their time to assist the committee with its inquiry. I wish also to thank members of the committee for their contributions to this report, including former Presiding Members, Mr Adrian Pederick MP and Mr Stephen Patterson MP, along with Mr Nick McBride MP, Mr Tony Piccolo MP, Mr Michael Brown MP, the Hon. John Dawkins MLC, the Hon. Tung Ngo MLC and the Hon. Mark Parnell MLC. Finally, I would like to thank the committee staff, Ms Joanne Fleer and Dr Merry Brown, for their assistance.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.