From the Gayle Sloan, CEO
2025 has shaped up to be one of the busiest years yet on the waste and resource recovery (#WARR) calendar — arguably the most pivotal since China’s National Sword policy jolted Australia into reality back in 2018. Ironically, much of the busyness this year hasn’t stemmed from unbridled progress, but from the constant effort to stop ourselves from sliding backwards.
Let’s be frank: the last term of the Federal Government left the WARR industry disappointed and frustrated. The early rhetoric was strong — with promises to regulate, expand stewardship, and fix the broken parts of the system that leave materials stranded onshore without viable markets. There was talk of stewardship schemes for packaging and textiles, eco-modulation to reward better design, and national regulatory consistency to attract investment.
Yet by the end of the term, most of that ambition had dissolved into silence. The promised regulations never materialised. Stewardship schemes were left hanging. Investment pipelines stalled.
We need rules that reward responsibility, regulation that drives design, and markets that pull recovered materials through the system.
Doubling material circularity by 2035 will not happen by chance. It will happen when regulation, markets, and investment work together — and when governments show the courage to make the tough calls that create certainty and unlock the capital needed to build Australia’s recycling and reprocessing capacity.
Hopefully, once reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 are finalised, the Federal Government will pivot back to WARR and follow through with the necessary policy and regulatory action.
Amid federal uncertainty, some states are stepping up. New South Wales, in particular, stands out. October saw the release of the first chapter of its Waste and Circular Infrastructure Plan, progress on regulatory frameworks for battery-powered items, an expansion of the CDS, and development of a Regulatory Impact Statement exploring stewardship for PV panels.
These initiatives build on earlier moves this year — including regulations mandating the separation of organics by 2030 (covering MSW and some commercial and industrial premises), reviews of EFW policy and asbestos waste definitions, and a forthcoming waste levy review.
It’s heartening to see multiple levers being pulled by a reform-minded minister. NSW is demonstrating that a circular economy is not simply a theory — it’s a practical, job-creating reality when the rules are clear and direction consistent.
Unfortunately, that level of leadership is not uniform across the country. In Queensland this month, I attended the Local Government Association’s (LGAQ) 129th Annual Conference, where the push to abolish the so-called “bin tax” represents a step backwards.
Rather than building on the existing framework to grow markets, expand processing capacity, and create the regional circular jobs championed by the previous President, this campaign risks undermining the very economic and environmental foundations of the system. We must move beyond simply “talking rubbish” to recognising the value of the materials we dispose of.
What’s needed now is not another political soundbite, but a coordinated policy framework that supports recycling and remanufacturing — particularly in regional Australia. Without regulation to drive design and end-market demand, we are not creating circularity; we are merely shifting waste — sometimes literally across state borders. We now await the release of Queensland’s updated Waste Strategy to see whether it delivers the action required.
That said, there was some good news. The Queensland Parliament’s Health, Environment and Innovation Committee tabled its response this month to the inquiry into the Containers for Exchange Scheme — echoing what industry has been saying for years. There are fundamental flaws baked into the scheme, from lack of transparency and fairness in procurement to its failure to build upon and work with the WARR industry across Queensland.
This presents a valuable opportunity for the new Queensland Government to address industry’s legitimate concerns and build a stronger, more effective scheme that delivers real jobs, investment, and remanufacturing capability — something Queensland has struggled to attract to date.
With just seven (7) weeks to Christmas, I’m still hopeful we’ll see continued activity right through to year’s end — particularly with states acting to address fire risks from batteries, and hopefully achieving workable outcomes in Queensland on PFAS and in NSW on asbestos.
And finally — please make time to join one of the Christmas events planned before the end of the year. While there is always more to do, we can genuinely say we’ve achieved a great deal in 2025 — and that’s something worth celebrating!