Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, I will. We need to make sure that the use of plastic is reduced in the first place, by re-designing the sort of packaging that we're using. We need to use less problematic types of plastics so that we can more easily recycle any plastic we do use, with fewer problematic additives as well. We know a lot of packaging is covered, for example, in chemicals like PFAS, which means that it can't be effectively recycled. We're investing in recycling facilities together with the states and territories and the private sector, with a billion dollars extra invested in recycling capacity, which means a million extra tonnes can be recycled every year. That's the weight of 19 Harbour Bridges of rubbish that we are keeping out of landfill because of that investment. As well as being great for the environment, that's fantastic for jobs. There are three jobs in recycling for every one job in landfill.

Australia has joined the High Ambition Coalition to end plastic pollution. We've been working at the forefront of those treaty negotiations to make sure that our ambition here in Australia is reflected globally, with an ambitious— (Time expired)

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