The Greens Zero Waste: A Transition Plan to a Circular Economy:

Cate Faehrmann MLC

*  Dedicate 100% of the revenue raised by the Waste and Environment Levy into fixing our growing waste crisis. This funding will support two areas of priority:

a) Improving the quality of waste management services, including waste reduction, avoidance and re-use programs, and environmental programs to encourage the development of innovative waste management technology.


b) Rebuilding NSW's domestic recycling capacity, including supporting industry and local government to co-invest in recycling infrastructure projects, identify new uses and markets for recyclable materials, improve the quality of recycled products, and for technical innovations that reduce the amount of unrecyclable material going to landfill.
*  Increase the Waste and Environment Levy 5% per annum. Progressive increases in the Waste and Environment Levy will create a powerful incentive for minimising landfill disposal, driving investment in innovation and technology, and promoting a shift of waste management up the waste hierarchy.

*  Establish an independent NSW Waste and Resource Recovery Commissioner. The Commissioner will lead the development of a state-wide strategy to co-ordinate infrastructure planning and map material and resource pathways over a 30-year timeframe for the whole of the state. The Commissioner will also be responsible for improving alignment and consistency across state jurisdictions, especially to prevent the interstate transport of waste materials.

*  Return all curbside collection and landfill management to public ownership and co-ordination. Public management of waste facilities reduces the perverse profit incentive to increase the amount of disposed waste and limit pre-sorting or pre-treatment. As part of a NSW Waste and Recycling Infrastructure Strategy, The Commissioner, in partnership with Local Government, will chart a 10 year road-map to return essential waste management functions to Council or other public ownership.

*  Phase out all single-use plastics products by 2023. We will immediately ban easily replaceable products including plastic bags, polystyrene food and drink containers, plastic straws and microbeads. Other products will be progressively phased out through regulatory measures, procurement programs and innovation.

*  Introduce strict regulations requiring all packaging be recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2023. This is an existing Australian commitment as part of the UN's Clean Seas program. Unnecessary single-use packaging will be phased out through design, innovation or introduction of alternatives.

*  Mandate statewide kerbside organic waste collection. We will work with local governments to phase in mandatory organic waste collection over five years, including both kitchen and garden waste. This initiative will divert more than one third of the waste stream of NSW from landfill, while creating a valuable compost product for landscape management.

*  Ban all waste-to-energy schemes. Waste-to-energy is unsustainable, environmentally harmful and weakens community support for recycling. We oppose the inclusion of waste-to-energy in the waste hierarchy that underpins the circular economy.

*  Moratorium on new landfill sites. A moratorium on new landfill sites will drive innovation in waste minimisation and material recovery, and also reduce the environmental impacts and liability of landfill, on land, water and in relation to greenhouse gas emissions.

*  Invest in community education and awareness raising. Consumer education campaigns complement the regulatory changes and changing social expectations around waste, and will better inform choices around the benefits of reducing, reusing and recycling unwanted products.