1st July, 2021
NSW RELEASES 20-YEAR WASTE STRATEGY
The NSW Government has released its 20 year waste and sustainable materials strategy 2041, accompanied by the NSW Plastics Action Plan.
National Waste and Resource Industry Council (NWRIC) CEO, Rose Read said the strategy aims to clarify primary waste targets and how they could achieve them.
“The Strategy has aligned its targets with the National Waste Action Plan, notably reaching an 80% resource recovery rate by 2030 and reducing total waste generation by 10%.”
“As set out in the NSW Plastics Action Plan the focus on phasing out problematic single-use plastics by 2025 is welcomed, as is the target of 30% plastic litter reduction by 2025, and the goal to triple the plastics recycling rate by 2030. This focus on plastics is long overdue,” said Ms Read.
“The other notable announcement within the Strategy was the funding of a new joint procurement facilitation service for collecting and processing waste from household bins. It’s a good initiative, but a level playing field and open competition must remain to benefit both local government, households and the sector,” she said.
Some of the key reforms include:
- phasing out problematic single-use plastic items
- financial incentives for manufacturers and producers to design out problematic plastics
- having government agencies prefer recycled content
- mandating the separation of food and garden organics for households and selected businesses
- incentivising biogas generation from waste materials
These are the targets:
- reduce total waste generated by 10% per person by 2030
- have an 80% average recovery rate from all waste streams by 2030
- significantly increase the use of recycled content by governments and industry
- phase out problematic and unnecessary plastics by 2025
- halve the amount of organic waste sent to landfills by 2030
- reduce litter by 60% by 2030 and plastics litter by 30% by 2025
- triple the plastics recycling rate by 2030
Download your copy of the NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy (PDF 2.1Mb) here.