Sunday 29 October 2023 

WMRR Welcomes NSW Plastics Plan as Practical, Achievable and Certain

The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) welcomes the NSW Government’s Plastic Plan released today as practical, achievable and providing much needed certainty for industry and business.

“WMRR has always argued for a national approach to plastics policy and this plan does a lot to align NSW with other states,” WMRR Chief Executive Officer Gayle Sloan said today. 

“While it is ambitious in parts, the plan avoids unnecessary and counter-productive one upmanship and focuses on aligning with other states and territories, a big plus!” she said.

“The plan is right to focus on design and the phasing out of some problematic and harmful substances. This is a step in the right direction and we very much welcome the NSW Government’s understanding of the importance in moving nationally in this regard.

“Given Australia is a common market, it is important the states shift uniformly to provide certainty for business and the waste and resource recovery sector so the confidence is there to drive investment in new onshore infrastructure for recycling and the like.

“It's also important, as recognised in the plan, that products and materials need to be safe for consumption to protect both communities and ecosystems.  We do need urgent national action in this regard, and we look forward to national action on chemicals of concern, including labelling and registering so consumers can have informed consent.

“The plan rightly also places responsibility and arms consumers with the knowledge they need to make informed choices about their consumption habits. 

“As the waste hierarchy tells us, avoidance is the best thing we can all do by encouraging the elimination of problematic and unnecessary waste.   

“Producer responsibility is the key towards driving this change because problematic material cannot simply be left to our sector to deal with at end-of-life. We need to avoid, reduce, re-use and repair first where possible

“This is a clear, measured and sensible evidence-based policy which will lead to improved environmental outcomes,” Ms Sloan said.