By Mike Foley
The Coalition has voted against a waste export rule it created under the Morrison government, teaming up with the Greens to scrap a levy on overseas shipments of Australian plastic, paper and cardboard.
The levy of up to $13,500, which was set to kick in this year, would have been imposed on exporters when they altered the conditions of contracts to send waste overseas, such as by switching the destination of their shipments.
The Coalition and Greens argued that export fees would drive recyclers out of business and result in more waste going to landfills.Credit: Jason South
The removal of the levy could force taxpayers to foot the bill for the cost of administering waste export licences.
Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek claimed scrapping the levy would “make it easier to send Australian rubbish overseas”.
“The Morrison government … announced the costs of regulating the export of waste would be a levy from industry – not taxpayers,” she said. “Why have they changed their mind?”
Joining to overturn the rules in a Senate vote on Wednesday night, the Coalition and the Greens argued that export fees would drive recyclers out of business and result in more waste going to landfills.
Opposition environment spokesman Jonathon Duniam said recyclers in Australia would not be able to cope if the levy was imposed.
“The dithering by the government to properly consult the industry on governmental delays that are inflicted on exporters of waste and cardboard are majorly affecting Australia’s ability to responsibly dispose of products,” Duniam said.
“This material would be dumped in landfill unless the Coalition acted to disallow this instrument.”
Greens waste and recycling spokesperson Peter Whish-Wilson said the levy was a “distraction from what really needs to be done”.
“Recyclers have attempted countless times to engage with the government to attempt to resolve issues, without success,” Whish-Wilson said.
“The disallowance of these regulations is a problem of the government’s own making. The Greens have asked the government for months to meet with the resource-recovery sector.”
Former prime minister Scott Morrison announced in 2019 that he would ban waste exports that could end up in the environment after a string of countries refused to accept shipments. China, the largest importer of recyclable materials, decided in 2017 that it would no longer take what it called foreign garbage.
“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,” Morrison said. “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’.”
While his proclamation did not result in a total ban, state and federal governments agreed on a series of rules to curb waste exports. As a result, shipments of Australian tyres, plastic and glass – most of which go to Malaysia, India and Indonesia – have fallen by nearly 70 per cent.
The local waste industry had particularly limited recycling capacity for paper and cardboard, and the Morrison government developed rules to encourage it to increase capacity. It also imposed a cost-recovery policy in 2021 to “ensure that those who create the need for, and use, the regulatory services bear the costs”.
Australia’s recycling rate remains relatively low, particularly for environmentally damaging plastics. Just 13 per cent of plastics is diverted from landfill each year, compared with 81 per cent of building materials, 58 per cent of organic materials and 62 per cent of paper and cardboard.
The government is aiming to rapidly increase plastic recycling to 70 per cent of all waste produced by 2025.
Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association chief executive Gayle Sloan welcomed the move to scrap the levy, which she said was an unreasonable impost on industry.
“We have to find a way to start using recycled materials in manufacturing,” Sloan said.
“Until Australia has enough market demand we have no choice but to export these valuable products. We encourage the minister to accelerate the packaging design guidelines she has promised to promote local recycled content.”
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