2023-02-06
The NSW Environment Minister must intervene in the soft plastics crisis and find a temporary safe storage solution to stop mountains of plastic waste going to landfill, said Greens MP Cate Faehrmann.
The Greens also today launched their plan to solve the soft plastics crisis in Balmain today out the front of Woolworths with local residents who have collected soft plastics they are now unable to recycle.
The plan comes the day after revelations that Coles and Woolworths have been ordered to dump tonnes of REDcycle soft plastics into landfill.
The Greens plan will:
● Immediately redirect the entirety of the more than $800 million per annum waste levy towards dealing with the waste crisis
● Dedicate $100 million from the Waste Levy towards establishing soft plastics recycling schemes.
● Establish a ‘Plastics Reduction Taskforce’ to develop a s soft plastics recycling strategy
● Mandate procurement targets for recycled plastic content in single use plastics as well as products like roads and pathways, railway bollards and street furniture.
● Expand the trial of curbside soft plastics recycling to Sydney.
● Support and invest in small businesses with existing soft plastics recycling schemes to scale up.
Quotes attributable to Cate Faehrmann, NSW Greens MP and waste spokesperson
“I call on the Environment Minister to immediately invest the $800 million the government receives each year from the waste levy into actually solving the waste crisis and building a circular economy. The Minister also needs to rule out this waste going to landfill,” said Cate Faehrmann.
“The Minister needs to find a safe storage solution and invest in those businesses that already have soft plastic recycling schemes to be able to scale them up.
“The collapse of RedCycle and the discovery of millions of tonnes of stockpiled soft plastics that are now on their way to landfill has revealed a deeply broken plastics recycling system. The Greens plan will create a sustainable soft plastics recycling scheme that won’t disappear overnight.
“Mandated procurement targets will ensure that there is a market for recycled soft plastics and that soft plastics recycling schemes not only survive but thrive.
“The Liberal-National Government’s failure to do this has left NSW without a market for recycled plastics and caused the collapse of our largest soft plastic recycling scheme.
“Only 13% of the $800 million waste levy actually goes towards reducing waste. The rest goes into government coffers. The Greens plan will put that money towards solving the waste crisis and environmental programs, including ensuring consumers can recycle their soft plastics.
“The community is crying out for options to recycle their waste, this should be a no brainer.
Quotes attributable Kobi Shetty, Greens candidate for Balmain and Inner West Councillor
“The current soft plastics crisis demonstrates the abject failure of this government to take responsibility for plastic waste. We desperately need reliable, domestic solutions to keep plastics out of landfill and protect our precious oceans.
“So many people have been doing the right thing and diligently separating their soft plastics for recycling. They want to see urgent action, and want the NSW Government to take this issue seriously.