David Bradbury (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I present the explanatory memorandum to this bill and I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Product Stewardship Bill 2011 implements a cornerstone commitment of the National Waste Policy, which heralded a new, coherent, efficient and environmentally responsible approach to waste management in Australia. The policy, which was endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments in 2010, committed to establishing a national framework, underpinned by Commonwealth legislation, to support voluntary, co-regulatory and mandatory product stewardship schemes. Product stewardship involves shared responsibility for reducing the environmental, health and safety impacts of manufactured goods and materials across the life of a product.

Waste in Australia is growing. In the four years to 2007, the amount of waste generated grew by nearly a third, to around 44 million tonnes, which is the equivalent of over 2,000 kilograms for each Australian each year. Over the same period, the amount of hazardous waste has doubled. Even if the current recycling level of about 52 per cent is maintained, this trend could result in an almost threefold increase in the waste generated over the coming decade.

The nature of waste is also changing. The waste stream today is markedly different from 50 years ago when motor vehicles, refrigerators and televisions were less common, and home computers, mobile phones and compact fluorescent lamps did not exist. Today's goods are increasingly complex, and not only contain materials that can be re-used but also contain hazardous substances. As a result of their increasingly short product life, these goods now comprise a significant and growing component of the waste stream. At end of life, these products are placing a disproportionate burden on the general community rather than on those who use them or benefit from their use. Sharing responsibility is central to product stewardship.

Australia—as a responsible global citizen—is party to a number of international conventions, including the Basel convention and the Stockholm convention, which seek to reduce and manage waste and hazardous substances, including those substances that are persistent in the environment, toxic and accumulate along the food chain. Product stewardship can play a part as one of the means by which to achieve these goals.

These international obligations do not remain static. Under the Stockholm convention, some flame retardant chemicals present in many products are to be restricted or banned. There is also emerging global agreement on directions to reduce mercury emissions.

Mercury is present in many products. It is also harmful in minute amounts, and long-term, daily exposure above 25 millionths of a gram per cubic metre is considered unsafe. To place in context the importance of responsible end-of-life management of products—over 50 million lamps containing mercury, in particular street lights and commercial lighting, were imported into Australia in 2008 and these contained approximately 600 kilograms of mercury. The Commonwealth is responsible for ensuring that Australia's international obligations are met and the states and territories have the primary role in the management of waste under the Australian Constitution. This has led to a long history of collaboration by all Australian governments, anchored in the 1992 National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development. This was the first comprehensive domestic approach to waste and committed all Australian governments to improving the use of resources, reducing the impact of waste on the environment and improving the management of hazardous wastes.

The waste sector has also evolved to cover re-use, recovery, treatment and disposal of waste, and increasingly manages waste as a resource. This creates opportunities. Today the waste and recycling sector is valued at between $7 billion and $11 billion and employs a direct labour force of around 30,000.

The regulation impact statement for the National Waste Policy estimated the savings from a national product stewardship approach to be $147 million over 20 years. The regulation impact statement also identified the additional costs of jurisdictions implementing up to five separate product stewardship programs could be up to $212 million.

Product stewardship schemes are in place in many other parts of the world, including in North America, Europe and Asia. Electrical equipment, tyres, mercury lamps, batteries, packaging, chemical products and even cars are covered by such arrangements.

Australia has adopted many individual approaches to product stewardship. The Commonwealth's Product Stewardship (Oil) Act 2000 covers lubricating oils and its Ozone and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 covers the management of ozone-depleting substances and synthetic greenhouse gases. South Australia introduced a mandatory deposit refund scheme on drink containers in 1977 and the Northern Territory has recently passed similar legislation. New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia also have legislation that can require product stewardship schemes. Used packaging stewardship is covered by a national environment protection measure that has been enacted differently in each jurisdiction since 1998.

A complex mix of rules and regulations applies to products and materials that are sold nationally by companies operating Australia wide. A single piece of legislation that allows for the consistent regulation of products and materials provides a more effective mechanism than an array of individual product legislation at both Commonwealth and state levels.

There is no doubt that many companies wish to do the right thing and are already involved in voluntary product stewardship schemes. Some of these schemes are familiar. DrumMuster recycles used agricultural and veterinary chemical containers and has reformulated products to reduce packaging and waste. Planet Ark takes back printer cartridges, MobileMuster deals with mobile phones, and more recently Fluorocycle started recycling mercury from commercial lighting.

The states and territories, local government, industry, business associations, the retail sector, environmental groups and the community actively support the National Waste Policy, and a national approach to product stewardship. Extensive consultation has been undertaken over the past two years, with strong levels of participation. To date over 1,000 people have attended some 80 public and bilateral meetings, and there have been around 320 public submissions.

The bill efficiently addresses the need for a simple enduring national approach to product stewardship through a single piece of framework legislation. Three types of product stewardship arrangements will be catered for. Industries and products may be regulated through either a co-regulatory or mandatory approach and voluntary product stewardship schemes can be accredited.

This framework will allow for different products and materials to be covered over time as needs emerge, and for the arrangements to be tailored to suit different circumstances in a changing international, social, environmental and economic context. Importantly there is also a comprehensive suite of checks and balances built into the framework to ensure it is appropriate and transparent.

The bill sets the framework under which products and materials can be regulated and the obligations placed on various parties. It sets out the governance arrangements, the powers of the regulator, and the reporting and audit requirements for organisations delivering product stewardship schemes. It provides the offences and penalties together with the compliance and enforcement powers.

For a product to be covered it must further the objects of the legislation, which are an expression of the aims and principles of the National Waste Policy and its product stewardship strategy. The product must also satisfy specified criteria, including whether the product is in a national market. As each product, material and industry is unique, the regulations will set out the details of what is to be regulated and the actions to be taken.

The actions required in the regulations may include the need to avoid, reduce or eliminate waste from products. There may be a requirement to reduce hazardous substances or to manage the waste as a resource. Importantly, there may be the obligation to ensure that products or waste from products is reused, recycled, recovered, treated or disposed of in a safe, scientific and environmentally sound way.

The intent of the voluntary element is to encourage product stewardship without the need for regulation and to provide the community with more certainty, through the use of a logo, that accredited schemes actually achieve what they claim. In particular, product stewardship organisations that are accredited will meet specific reporting and audit requirements, which will provide for both transparency and accountability.

Co-regulatory product stewardship schemes will be delivered by industry with only outcomes and basic operational requirements specified in regulation. A company will not be able to benefit from refusing to participate, so there will be no free-riders. Thresholds may be applied to avoid impacts on small business.

Mandatory product stewardship would set obligations for parties to take certain actions in relation to a product. The bill provides a comprehensive set of product stewardship requirements that can be drawn upon for that purpose. These include the ability to require labelling, to require producers to take products back at the end of life for recycling or to require a deposit and refund be applied to a product. These requirements are based on those already in use, such as those in the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989.

There will be a rigorous transparent assessment and consultation process before a decision to make regulations on a product. This will follow the Australian government's regulatory impact analysis requirements. Through the Environment Protection and Heritage Council all governments have agreed that a national television and computer product stewardship scheme should be the first to be regulated under this product stewardship framework legislation. The decision regulation impact statement published in 2009 showed that a national television and computer product stewardship scheme would provide a net benefit to society in the range of $517 million to $742 million over the period 2008-09 to 2030-31.

Industry, jurisdictions and the community have sought national regulation for end of life televisions and computers for more than a decade. Around 32 million new television and computer products were sold in Australia in 2008, with an estimated 16.8 million units reaching end of life in the same year. Only 10 per cent are recycled, which is well below the average rate of recycling for all waste of 52 per cent. The volume of television and computer products reaching end of life is expected to grow to 44 million per year by 2028. This electronic waste is classified as hazardous waste under the Basel Convention.

The decision by all governments and industry to deliver this scheme is an important step towards sustainable management of electronic waste in Australia. This Product Stewardship Bill demonstrates the willingness of business, community and government to share responsibility for reducing the environmental impacts of products throughout their lives and will make a major contribution to achieving a more sustainable Australia.

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