The Australian Greens are criticizing the recent decision by the federal government to temporarily allow the export of household plastic waste to be recycled overseas. Recycling company Oately Resources Australia has been given approval by the Minister for the Environment, Tanya Plibersek, to export easily recyclable plastic waste for one year. Previously, Australia sent their plastic waste to China for recycling until China stopped accepting solid waste in 2018. In 2020, a staged export ban was implemented by the former Morrison-led Coalition government, which banned mixed plastic waste from mid-2021 and placed stronger restrictions on sorted plastic waste from the middle of 2022. Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson has criticized the government’s decision, stating that it allows plastic producers to get away with their mess while limiting the development of Australia’s recycling industry. He called on the government to impose mandatory national packaging targets to regulate Australia’s plastic packaging industry.
Despite criticisms, Plibersek defends the temporary approval, claiming it was granted to alleviate the issue of stockpiling and prevent plastic waste from ending up in landfills. The federal government is investing around a quarter of a billion dollars in expanding and upgrading the country’s recycling facilities, part of which includes a $60 million investment as part of the Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF). The funds will be invested in state-of-the-art advanced recycling solutions for hard-to-recycle plastics and address low plastics recycling rates. Plibersek said the government is working with state and territory leaders to ensure a circular economy by 2030 and that facilities are being built to get better at using less raw material and recycling more of what is used.