Beneficial Reuse and Resource Recovery of Waste Materials
List of key elements common to Summary of key elements of state and territory Summary of key elements of Commonwealth Commonwealth and jurisdictions (as List of key elements common to only principles and objectives principles and objectives listed) one or some jurisdictions as listed The waste hierarchy The waste hierarchy All: The waste hierarchy Reducing consumption of natural Reducing consumption of natural ACT, NSW, QLD: Reducing resources by decreasing waste resources by decreasing waste consumption of natural resources generation and increasing reuse and generation and increasing reuse and by decreasing waste generation resource recovery resource recovery and increasing reuse and resource recovery Improve the efficiency of resource use COMM: Improve the efficiency of and reduce the impact on the resource use and reduce the impact on environment of waste disposal the environment of waste disposal
Shared responsibility of waste Shared responsibility of waste ACT, NSW, QLD, SA, VIC: Shared management management responsibility of waste management Manage waste in accordance with COMM: Manage waste in accordance international obligations with international obligations Provision of appropriate waste COMM: Provision of appropriate waste management services to all areas management services to all areas (including remote regional areas) (including remote regional areas)
Provide for broad community COMM: Provide for broad community involvement on issues involvement on issues
The pricing of waste disposal (to land, COMM: The pricing of waste disposal (to waterway, or atmosphere) reflects the land, waterway, or atmosphere) reflects full economic and environmental cost the full economic and environmental cost and enables reinvestment in alternatives and enables reinvestment in alternatives or rehabilitation of the environment. or rehabilitation of the environment. Pricing waste disposal to promote COMM: Pricing waste disposal to economic growth while decreasing promote economic growth while pollution decreasing pollution
Support and implement national A nationally consistent and efficient COMM: A nationally consistent and objectives waste management framework efficient waste management framework Regular provision of nationally COMM: Regular provision of nationally consistent and comprehensive data on consistent and comprehensive data on waste and re-use of materials to assess All: Ecologically sustainable waste and re-use of materials to assess performance and inform policy development performance and inform policy Ecologically sustainable development Ecologically sustainable development The effective integration of QLD: Support and implement national The effective integration of economic The effective integration of economic economic and environmental objectives and environmental considerations in and environmental considerations in considerations in decision-making decision-making decision-making Including: Including: Including: (a) the precautionary principle (a) the precautionary principle (a) the precautionary principle (b) the inter-generational equity (b) the inter-generational equity (b) the inter-generational equity principle principle principle (c) conservation of biological SA: Best practice standards in (c) conservation of biological diversity (c) conservation of biological diversity diversity and ecological integrity environmental management and ecological integrity and ecological integrity (d) improved valuation and (d) improved valuation and pricing of (d) improved valuation and pricing of pricing of environmental environmental resources environmental resources resources ACT, VIC, NSW: Industrial efficiency
Industrial efficiency ACT, NSW, QLD, VIC, TAS, WA: Extended producer responsibility Extended producer responsibility Extended producer responsibility ACT: Carbon neutrality Including: Including: Including: (a) product stewardship (a) product stewardship (a) product stewardship COMM: Reducing greenhouse gas (b) life cycle principle (b) life cycle principle (b) life cycle principle emission, energy used and water consumed in waste management Carbon neutrality Reducing greenhouse gas emission, energy used and water consumed in waste management COMM: Wastes should be managed as a NSW, QLD, VIC, SA: Wastes to resource Wastes to resources for beneficial reuse Wastes to resources for beneficial reuse resources for beneficial reuse COMM: Minimisation of Wastes should be managed as a resource intergenerational legacy issues (by management of the risks) Eliminate waste generation or disposal To minimize the generation of COMM: Reduce local stockpiling of to landfill hazardous wastes and other wastes (in Reduce local stockpiling of hazardous hazardous waste (particularly for rural terms both of quantity and potential The proximity principle waste (particularly for rural areas) areas) hazard) COMM: Haz waste proximity principle Regulation to prohibit disposal (where Haz waste proximity principle resource recovery is practicable) COMM: Consistent and clear Consistent and clear hazardous material requirements for disposal of hazardous Regulation to enforce the waste content labelling material hierarchy (where practicable) Consistent and clear requirements for COMM: Consistent and clear hazardous disposal of hazardous material material content labelling Best practice standards in COMM: Hazardous waste export, import environmental management Minimisation of intergenerational legacy and transit waste is managed in an issues (by management of the risks) environmentally sound manner SA: Eliminate waste generation or Hazardous waste export, import and disposal to landfill transit waste is managed in an environmentally sound manner QLD: The proximity principle
SA: Regulation to prohibit disposal (where resource recovery is practicable)
VIC: Regulation to enforce the waste hierarchy (where practicable)
Over-arching objectives and guiding principles promoting reuse and resource recovery
List of key elements of the Summary list of State Overview of jurisdiction framework objectives and principles key elements
ACT The ACT Waste Minimisation Act 2001 includes the majority of ACT’s over-arching objectives and guiding The waste hierarchy The waste hierarchy principles to encourage reuse and resource recovery. The implementation of the waste hierarchy is Reducing consumption of natural resources identified as the main objective and is en acted along with the need to minimise the consumption of natural Reducing consumption of resources by increasing reuse and recycling. The ACT objectives are to be implemented according to the by decreasing waste generation and principle of ecologically sustainable development (ESD). ACT defines ESD as “the effective integration of increasing reuse and resource recovery natural resources by economic and environmental considerations in decision-making processes achievable through Shared responsibility of waste decreasing waste generation implementation of the following principles: (a) the precautionary principle; (b) the inter-generational equity management and increasing reuse and principle; (c) conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity; (d) improved valuation and pricing resource recovery of environmental resources”. Ecologically sustainable development The Waste Minimisation Act 2001 also includes legislation that drives industrial efficiency and extended Industrial efficiency Shared responsibility of waste producer responsibility in the ACT. Extended producer responsibility (product management The ACT Waste Management Strategy 2010–2025 also includes outcomes related to the ACT principles and stewardship) adds the principle of carbon neutrality to ACT’s inventory. Carbon neutrality Ecologically sustainable development NSW The waste hierarchy The effective integration of The NSW Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2001 includes the majority of NSW’s over-arching economic and environmental objectives and guiding principles to encourage beneficial reuse and resource recovery. Implementation of Reducing consumption of natural resources the waste hierarchy in accordance with the principle of ESD is identified as a main objective and is en acted by decreasing waste generation and considerations in decision- along with objectives to minimise the consumption of natural resources and waste generation. NSW defines increasing reuse and resource recovery making ESD as including the following: (a) the precautionary principle, (b) inter-generational equity, (c) conservation Shared responsibility of waste Including: of biological diversity and ecological integrity, (d) improved valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms. management (a) the precautionary The NSW Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2007 includes an extensive list of principles principle broadly focused on ESD, economic analysis, and community and industry involvement. Ecologically sustainable development (b) the inter-generational NSW Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulations enable NSW to issue ‘resource recovery Industrial efficiency exemptions’ which allow for the beneficial reuse of wastes via land application or for use as a fuel. These equity principle Extended producer responsibility (product (c) conservation of biological regulations enable the principle of ‘wastes to resources for beneficial reuse’ (where the wastes are fit for stewardship) beneficial reuse). diversity and ecological Wastes to resources for beneficial reuse integrity (d) improved valuation and QLD Reducing consumption of natural resources pricing of environmental by decreasing waste generation and resources increasing reuse and resource recovery The QLD Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 includes the majority of QLD’s over-arching objectives and Shared responsibility of waste guiding principles to encourage beneficial reuse and resource recovery. Reducing resource consumption Industrial efficiency (and the effects of), shared responsibility for achieving objectives, and support of national objectives are management identified as key objectives. The principle of the ‘waste and resource management hierarchy’ is combined Support and implement national objectives Extended producer with the polluter pays principle, the user pays principle, the proximity principle, and the product responsibility stewardship principle. The Act also allows for the ‘approval of resource for beneficial use’ which enables the The waste hierarchy principle of ‘wastes to resources for beneficial reuse’ where the wastes are fit for beneficial reuse. Including: The polluter pays principle (a) product stewardship The user pays principle (b) life cycle principle Extended producer responsibility (product stewardship) Carbon neutrality Wastes to resources for beneficial reuse Wastes to resources for The proximity principle beneficial reuse SA Eliminate waste generation or disposal to The SA Zero Waste SA Act 2004 includes the majority of SA’s over-arching objectives and guiding principles landfill Support and implement to encourage reuse and resource recovery. These objectives include the elimination of waste generation, or The waste hierarchy national objectives disposal to landfill, and the objectives are guided by the principles of the waste hierarchy, ESD, the application of best practice, and the principle of shared responsibility. Ecologically sustainable development The proximity principle The Environment Protection (Waste to Resources) Policy 2010 provides a significant range of wastes that are Best practice standards in environmental prohibited from disposal to landfill. Prohibiting landfill disposal is more an implementation tool (than an management objective or principle).The extent to which this tool is applied in SA warrants listing as principle of resource Eliminate waste generation recovery. This principle is listed as ‘regulation to prohibit disposal (where resource recovery is practicable).’ Shared responsibility of waste or disposal to landfill management The Environment Protection (Waste to Resources) Policy 2010 also provides definitions of wastes and when Best practice standards in a waste becomes a product. SA publish ‘waste to product standards’ that enable the principle of waste to Regulation to prohibit disposal (where resources for beneficial reuse to be implemented in SA. resource recovery is practicable) environmental management
Wastes to resources for beneficial reuse Regulation to prohibit disposal (where resource TAS The waste hierarchy recovery is practicable) The Tasmanian Waste and Resource Management Strategy provides the most complete summary of the Ecologically sustainable development objectives and guiding principles for Tasmania. Based on the core objective of sustainable development, the Regulation to enforce the strategy promotes the principles of the waste hierarchy, environmental stewardship, precautionary Life cycle principle principle, life-cycle principle, and the polluter pays and user pays principles. waste hierarchy (where practicable)
VIC The waste hierarchy The Victorian Environment Protection Act 1970 provides the majority of the over-arching objectives and Ecologically sustainable development guiding principles for Victoria. The Act includes an extensive range of principles, which can be summarised Extended producer responsibility (product into: the principle of ESD, the principle of shared responsibility, the principle of product stewardship, and stewardship) the principle of wastes hierarchy. Shared responsibility of waste The Environment Protection (Industrial Waste Resource) Regulations 2009, which applies only to industrial management and hazardous industrial wastes, enables the principles of ‘wastes to resources for beneficial reuse’ and ‘regulation to enforce the waste hierarchy (where practicable).’ Wastes to resources for beneficial reuse Regulation to enforce the waste hierarchy (where practicable)
WA The waste hierarchy WA objectives and principles are set out in the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007 and the Ecologically sustainable development Environmental Protection Act 1986. They include objectives to use resources efficiently, to minimise waste generation, to implement the waste hierarchy, to implement product stewardship, and to have regard for Extended producer responsibility (product the principles of ESD. stewardship)