Chair's Foreword

While this inquiry was underway, global talks to sign a high ambition treaty on tackling plastic pollution ground to a halt, dashing hopes for a binding international agreement to reduce plastic production and its use. Many of the countries committed to these negotiations, such as Australia, have long recognised the need to tackle the toxic tide of plastic polluting our oceans and planet, risking human health. This failure was universally blamed on vested interests, such as big producers of plastic lobbying against and undermining any binding regulatory precedent that would reduce global plastic production or consumption.

Whilst it was reported that the federal Environment Minister pushed for a legally binding global agreement during these negotiations, it is ironic that at home the Australian Government still doesn't have any mandated or binding regulatory policy frameworks of its own to hold big producers, brands or retailers of plastic responsible. This applies to many problematic waste streams, not just plastic or other packaging.

This report outlines compelling evidence that we are not winning the war on waste and that our current and historic federal policy framework has failed to achieve its objectives. This is the fourth Senate inquiry that I have initiated and the third that Ihave chaired in the past decade on this critical topic, and my deep frustration on the lack of progress is also shared by many submitters to this inquiry.

Consistent evidence was raised, and questions were asked during hearings as to why we haven't moved beyond ineffective voluntary or industry-regulated national schemes, to government regulated product stewardship schemes that hold to account the producers and retailers of waste? In other words, why haven't we implemented binding 'extended producer responsibility' (EPR) for different waste streams?

Again, resistance to regulation from big producers of waste such as plastics is the problem, followed by a lack of leadership and culture at a Commonwealth Government level to both own national schemes, and drive change. It is telling that respective federal environment ministers over recent years have all threatened to step in and regulate different waste streams if industry doesn't get its act together but never have. Handing responsibility to the states to clean up different waste streams has also been all too easy, and a cop out for the federal government.

This inquiry was initiated to look into what progress the Labor Government has made in its first term of government to tackle waste reduction and build a circular economy. It came into government talking a big game. Whilst it should be acknowledged there is momentum and a process now in train for the federal government to finally step in and regulate some critical waste streams such as soft plastics or packaging, it's understandable that stakeholders wanting legislative and regulatory intervention—including many in the waste management and resource recovery industry—are feeling frustrated, sceptical and nervous about whether this will ever happen. During this inquiry they were rightfully asking why, after so many years of delays, reports, forums, consultations and policy progress in other international jurisdictions, we still kick the can down the road and have not taken the legislative or regulatory action to fix a clearly broken system?

One big positive that came out in the evidence is just how much support there is right now for federal government regulatory or legislative intervention in this space. The recycling/resource recovery/waste management industry, which employs tens of thousands of Australians, has always supported and urged federal governments to act on mandating product stewardship or EPR schemes for different waste streams. Indeed, they have argued it is essential for their businesses at the end of the waste pipe to do their job more effectively.

But this inquiry was the first time that organisations historically opposed to or mute on government regulation, such as the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, and the Australian Food & Grocery Council, and which represent many producers, brands and retailers of packaging, have also shown public support for federally mandated rules and regulations. Visy, arguably the most significant national player in packaging manufacturing, gave similar evidence in support of this.

What these rules and regulations look like are still to be determined andimplementing them in the next term of parliament must be a priority if we are going to have any chance of winning the war on waste.

The evidence in this 200-page report is then clear—there is no more time to waste. The time for strong federal government regulatory and legislative action is now.