Scott Morrison announces plan to ban plastic waste exports

Scott Morrison has unveiled a bold plan to ban Australia sending its plastic waste overseas, as the cost of shipping the nation’s trash offshore ballooned to $2.8 billion.

Australia will stop sending its plastic waste overseas in a new ban agreed on by the federal and state governments today.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison vowed to do more to tackle plastic waste in the world’s oceans as he unveiled the plan following a meeting with state premiers in Cairns today.

The nation’s leaders have tasked environment ministers with establishing a timetable to introduce the ban on exporting plastic, paper, glass and tyre waste.

“There will be no export of plastics and paper and glass to other countries where it runs the risk of floating around in our oceans,” Mr Morrison said following the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting.

Australia exported nearly 4.5 million tonnes of waste last year. Picture: AFP

“This stuff won’t change unless you say: ‘There’s going to be a point in time where you’re not going to be able to put this stuff in a ship and send it off to someone else’.

“We’ve got to start thinking about what we do when that happens, I would like that date to be as soon as is practicable.”

Australia exported nearly 4.5 million tonnes of waste last year, with the vast majority of it going to Vietnam, Indonesia and China.

It cost $2.8 billion to send all this waste overseas.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivers his introductory remarks during the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting at the Cairns Convention Centre. Picture: AAP

MORE NATIONAL NEWS:

NAB set for legal action over rip-off claims

Aussie farmers face tough new warnings

Half a million Takata death traps on your streets

Centrelink glitch costs families thousands

HealthEngine in court for dodgy GP reviews

Julie Bishop opens up about bullying

While NSW has the most people, it exported less waste than Victoria and Queensland, and only just more than Western Australia which has about a quarter of the population.

Mr Morrison says the export changes will occur with industry partnership and consultation.

“We want this to be a seamless change, but it’s going to be a change,” he said.

The prime minister believes it will create jobs in a bigger local recycling industry.

“There is the work on the science but there is also the work on the economics, because we want to see this introduced as an opportunity,” he said.

The federal government says instead of being sent overseas, waste could be turned into new packaging, plastics into furniture or railway sleepers and glass into road surfaces.

It is exploring using waste in energy plants to power Australian homes.

Mr Morrison says it’s also important for Australians to consider how they are generating waste.