Jason Falinski (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Now, after that, we are going to get into something exciting! We are going to talk about the Northern Beaches of Sydney, home to some of the most pristine and beautiful waterways in the country. From the sandy shores of Avalon Beach to the creeks of Bantry Bay, we are very fortunate to live where we do. With this fortune comes a great responsibility: we are responsible for protecting and preserving these waterways and the flora and fauna of which we call them home. It is our responsibility to preserve them for future generations.

It is estimated that between one and 2½ million tonnes of plastic are entering the ocean each year from our waterways. More than half of this plastic is less dense than the water it is entering, which means it will float on the surface. You may have heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This is a collection of marine debris which the currents have pulled together in the north Pacific Ocean, between California and Japan. This garbage patch is largely made up of microplastics and is three times the size of France. It is the result of poor management of our waste and is what we should be working hard to avoid.

Australia generates around 67 million tonnes of waste each year, of which 37 million tonnes is recycled. Only 12 per cent of the 103 kilograms of plastic waste generated per person in Australia each year is recycled, and most of this recycling happens overseas. The government is taking this problem seriously. Let me commend the minister for waste reduction and recycling, Trevor Evans, who is leading the government down the path of smarter waste management.

The Liberal government is building Australia's first domestic recycling capability through its $167 million Australian Recycling Investment Plan. This plan will increase Australia's recycling rates, tackle plastic waste as well as accelerate work on a new battery recycling scheme and halve food waste by 2030. Microbeads are also being phased out, and 94 per cent of cosmetic and personal care products in Australia are already microbead free. Crucially, we are banning the exporting of wasted plastic, paper, glass and tiles. No more will Australia produce plastic waste and then call it someone else's problem. The roughly 67 million tonnes of waste that we produce will be managed here in Australia under strong environmental conditions. This is a priority, as scientist estimates that in just 30 years a time, the weight of plastic in our oceans will exceed the weight of the fish.

Recycling is not only beneficial to our environment but is also a job creator. For every 10,000 tonnes of recycled waste, more than nine jobs are created. Waste management jobs add $6.9 billion to the economy annually. The Liberal government is also encouraging business to come on board and do their bit through its $20 million commitment for innovative projects under round 8 of the Cooperative Research Centres Projects Grants to grow our domestic plastic recycling industry.

Recently, I visited the Mona Vale Woolworths in my electorate where I spoke to Rachel and Lee about how they are reducing their waste and ensuring they do their bit to protect the local environment. Firstly, they have switched their lights to eco-friendly LEDs, which not only use less power but also help to preserve the fresh produce for longer, as they produce less heat. The older lights would cause the fruit and vegetables to wilt faster, thereby also creating more food waste. They also told me that they don't actually turn the lights off, because they undertook a study where they found that reducing the lights at night by 50 per cent uses less electricity than turning the lights on and off. They also were encouraging the use of recyclable paper bags, and the phase-out of plastic bags has proven very successful with their overall plastic use declining year after year. People who buy non-plastic bags have that money donated to local Landcare groups.

Improving waste management and reducing unnecessary packaging while increasing recycling rates is everyone's business. We owe it to the next generation to ensure we provide them with the same pristine, beautiful waterways which we were provided with. (Time expired)

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