by Komoneed | Oct 11, 2023
They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And it’s increasingly looking like this might be the case with Australia’s goal of achieving 80% resource recovery by 2030.
It’s only a little over six short years away.
As it stands, resource recovery in Australia is at around 62% and remains stubbornly difficult to budge higher.
According to the latest National Waste Report, there has been an increase of only one million tonnes over the last two reporting years, whereas we need over 10 million additional tonnes recovered over the next seven years (excluding ash recovery).
Those numbers demonstrate the trend is not our friend.
Drastic action is required if we are to meet that target. It will require some urgent and decisive leadership.
But let’s first acknowledge some of the good work going on across the country.
Federal and State Environment Ministers recently agreed to take action on packaging, with design rules aimed at cutting waste and boosting recycling.
The introduction of mandated targets for recycled content is a crucial first step on the path to creating a level playing field between virgin and recycled materials.
To grow demand for the recyclate we produce as a country requires a strong domestic market to buy these materials back. It’s clear this can only be achieved through mandated targets. Two decades of voluntary targets have failed to do the job, so this move is to be welcomed.
As is the co-investment from various governments in waste and resource recovery facilities, such as the expanded Visy facility in Melbourne opened in July, which adds 95,000 tonnes of fibre-processing capacity to the sector and the Albury-Wodonga PET recycling plant opened in 2022 operated as a joint venture between Pact Group, Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd, Asahi Beverages and new partner Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, which recycles about 30,000 tonnes a year.
But we need more. Much more. And fast.
This is why we are calling for a national commitment to a streamlined planning process to enable quick and efficient delivery of more of these facilities.
The WARR (waste avoidance & resource recovery) sector doesn’t seek to cut corners — indeed, those planning processes are important to giving the community confidence in our facilities — but approval differs across the states, adding layers of complexity. Furthermore, there are examples of it taking up to seven years.
This simply isn’t good enough and acts as a barrier to investment for those companies that want to play their part.
There is a certain irony in green tape holding up investment in vital recycling and resource recovery infrastructure necessary to achieve our environmental targets.
The very rules that are meant to protect the environment are often holding us back.
It’s also why a national framework is necessary to ensure uniformity across Australia.
It’s no wonder people are confused when the definition of waste varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
As Elizabeth Wild and Leon Batchelor point out in an article for the Australian Environmental Review, the definition of waste in Australia is unpredictable and lacking transparency across the states, which means the waste and resource recovery sector can be “poorly equipped to make operational and investment decisions which is adversely impacting the development of a circular economy”.
If we can’t even agree on what waste is, what hope do we have?
Europe has the ‘Green Deal’. The US has something similar as well as the Inflation Reduction Act, which wisely links environmental change to the economy.
It is this framework that everything needs to hang off. Instead, it seems like we are going the other way with a raft of siloed reviews and actions, then desperately hoping it will all fit together by 2030.
Well, sadly it’s not and it’s leaving massive holes. For example, the PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) consultation is looking into just three of the more than 4000 POPs (persistent organic pollutants).
The national framework would ensure the industry is considered in its entirety — not just papering over the last bad headline a government copped.
The good news is, there is a pathway forward. We can look to our friends in Europe and the US for inspiration.
The goodwill from the community is there, which should embolden governments to act.
There is time to start paving the road in a different direction and change tack, so we reach 80% by 2030, but that action needs to happen now and at a pace with which government to date appears unaccustomed.
Gayle Sloan is the Chief Executive Officer of the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR), Australias peak body for both the waste and resource recovery industry. Prior to becoming CEO in 2016, Gayle spent many years working for the NSW Attorney General’s Department before moving into the Attorney General’s Ministerial Office in 1998, and then the NSW Police Minister’s Office in 2000. Following this time in state government, Gayle worked as a director in a number of NSW councils, primarily looking after service delivery and assets. She developed and delivered a number of waste management contracts on behalf of councils, as well as managing environment and regulatory departments, including rangers and compliance officers. After two years of being a stay-at-home mum, Gayle returned to work in 2013 at Visy before being appointed CEO of WMRR in 2016.
Top image credit: iStock.com/baona
by Komoneed | Oct 11, 2023
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by Komoneed | Oct 11, 2023
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by Komoneed | Oct 11, 2023
When the Victorian Government, in July, announced a ban on gas connections in new homes and government buildings from next year, the plan received overwhelming support from environment groups and the property and construction sectors.
It was seen as a breakthrough for a state that is heavily reliant on natural gas, especially for heating homes and business. It also accounts for around 20% of Victoria’s emissions.
Switching away from natural gas, especially in new homes, was just one of 94 recommendations Infrastructure Victoria made to the Victorian Parliament in August 2021 as part of its 30-year infrastructure strategy update.
“The 30-year infrastructure strategy covers many infrastructure areas that the Victorian Government and Parliament have responsibility for either directly or through influence, and energy is absolutely one of them,” explained Dr Jonathan Spear, Chief Executive Officer at Infrastructure Victoria.
“The focus of our work and advice is what role the Victorian Government can play in the energy transition, conscious that, of course, there’s a real mix of players across different jurisdictions, government, private sector and for individual consumers as well.”
Spear brings his background in law, history and public administration in leading Infrastructure Victoria. Previously serving as Deputy Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, he has played a pivotal role in crafting the organisation’s research and advice.
On stage at All-Energy Australia’s conference, 25–26 October in Melbourne, Spear will speak about the pressing need to decarbonise Victoria’s infrastructure and energy sectors to achieve net zero emissions by 2045.
“I’m trained as a lawyer and as an historian, so I’m really interested in good public policy and strategy,” Spear said.
“The great thing about infrastructure is it touches on so many aspects of people’s lives and there’s often a connection across different infrastructure sectors, which is certainly true of energy, and it reflects a lot of the changes that happen.
“Being able to influence policy change through the work of an independent organisation, that collaborates widely across government, the community and the private sector is really rewarding.”
At All-Energy Australia, Spear will speak to the priority actions the Victorian Government can take to support the energy sector to meet the complex, long-term and competing priorities of acceleration of renewable energy, decarbonisation of the gas infrastructure network, and large-scale uptake of zero-emissions vehicles, all in a period of rapid change, uncertainty and fiscal constraint.
“There’s certainly a role for the Victorian Government, and other states and territories, to play increasing zero emission vehicle uptake,” Spear said. “Offering more opportunities to choose active transport, like walking and cycling, and public transport is also really important. We’re not going to achieve transport emission reduction targets without mode shift as well.”
Spear said when it comes to private households and businesses, there’s an enormous opportunity for a shift towards greater energy efficiency.
“We’ve called for increasing transparency of home energy ratings, at point of sale and rent, so that consumers can make more informed choices about the type of home they are going to live in and the impact on their energy bill.”
Spear said the Victorian Government can help manage demand through pricing signals that encourage consumers to use off-peak energy and reduce peak demand.
During the conference, he will also speak about the in-depth work Infrastructure Victoria has done on the implications for net zero emissions of Victoria’s extensive gas infrastructure.
“Our work, ‘Towards 2050: Gas infrastructure in a net zero emissions economy’, was an input to the Victorian Government’s gas substitution roadmap,” Spear explained. “It showed immediate and sustained action is needed to support proven, low carbon solutions — including energy efficiency, targeted electrification, hydrogen and biogas — if Victoria’s gas sector is to reach net zero emissions by 2050.”
Spear said All-Energy Australia is important to bring together so many leaders from across different components of the energy sector.
“It is great to hear each other’s voices through a great mix of industry experts, think tanks, government and community that are able to share ideas across jurisdictions,” Spear said.
“Victoria has particular challenges, for example, our reliance on natural gas is distinctive compared to other jurisdictions. But we’ve also got shared challenges, a shared east coast energy market for example, so that means that it’s important to bring people from all across Australia to All-Energy Australia, which is great.”
Dr Jonathan Spear will appear at All-Energy Australia on Day One in Plenary Three, Wednesday, 25 October starting at 1.40 pm.
For more details on the conference, agenda, exhibitors and how to register for the free-to-attend event, visit the website at all-energy.com.au.
by Komoneed | Oct 11, 2023
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