For Covenant CEO Ed Cordner, the approach to national waste and resource management policy taken by Australia's environment ministers demonstrates their support for product stewardship schemes — like the National Packaging Covenant (NPC).
Australia’s environment ministers recently agreed to a new national policy on waste and resource management. The historic agreement took place in Perth at the bi-annual meeting of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council
The National Waste Policy sets the agenda for waste and resource recovery in Australia over the next 10 years. The aims of the National Waste Policy are to:
- Avoid the generation of waste and reduce the amount of waste (including hazardous waste) for disposal;
- Manage waste as a resource and ensure that waste treatment, disposal, recovery and reuse is undertaken in a safe, scientific and environmentally sound manner;
- Contribute to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, energy conservation and production, water efficiency and the productivity of the land.
At the EPHC meeting Ministers also agreed to a new product stewardship scheme for televisions and computers and to further investigate one for tyres.
“The fact that at their recent meeting, Ministers agreed in-principle to both a new and improved Covenant and to use a similar model to collect and recycle computers and televisions — clearly shows they recognise the success of the Covenant model,” Cordner says.
"These new product stewardship initiatives will be industry led — similar to the Covenant — and underpinned by legislation to catch the ‘free-riders’."
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