Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for the Environment and Water. Minster, a renewable economy must be a circular economy. Solar panels, wind turbines and lithium batteries have an end of life, and we cannot afford to trade one environmental problem for another. According to the CSIRO, Australia is recycling only 10 per cent of its lithium batteries. What is the government doing to ensure solar panels and lithium batteries are recycled here in Australia?

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

Thank you so much to the member for Mackellar. She's absolutely right on two fronts: Australia has to be a circular economy, and we've got a real issue with solar panels and batteries from the solar industry. Of course, it's fantastic that more people are putting solar on the roof. We've got about 3 million Australian households and businesses that have solar panels on the roof now. They're saving money for themselves. They are saving about 1,000 bucks a year for an average family. They've reduced emissions by close to 18 million tonnes in 2021. A fantastic achievement. About eight per cent of the energy going into our national electricity grid is coming from rooftop solar. Great, great, great!

But we know that these systems last a couple of decades if they're going well. If we don't change what we're doing now, by 2030 there will be about a quarter of a million tonnes of this material in landfill. That's bad because the panels and the batteries contain valuable metals and minerals, and we should be re-using them. It's terrible for the environment, because we know that lithium batteries in particular, as they break apart, leach into the soil. That's not great for the soil or the environment. It's better for jobs to recycle, with about three jobs for recycling compared to one if it's going to landfill. It's better for the environment and better for the economy to recycle.

The solar industry has been on notice for years. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is an expert in recycling: back bench, front bench, back bench, front bench! She put the solar industry on notice, but they never took any notice of her. I have said that I will regulate. We are prepared to invest. We've set aside a quarter of a billion dollars for recycling infrastructure, including $60 million for soft plastics. I spoke to the supermarket giants just today about soft plastics and fixing the mess of REDcycle. We are prepared to invest and we are prepared to regulate. Those opposite weren't prepared to regulate.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting.

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

We want to help Australians do what they want to do, which is recycle. We know there's very strong support from Australians on recycling. We want to make it as easy as possible for them to do that. That means industry stepping up to do their share, it means being prepared to invest and it means being prepared to regulate where those opposite weren't.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is continually interjecting. You may not be able to help yourself, but you need to do better.