Industry update
The waste management industry has seen significant change over the last several years with government policy driving improvements to environmental outcomes. In this update we’ll cover July 2021 government waste levy increases, the waste export ban and how new facilities are making a sustainable future possible for common waste types.
Government waste levies
As part of our commitment to sustainability, we believe waste levies create a strong economic incentive to minimise waste, improve recycling and divert waste from landfill. They also benefit local communities by providing funding for environmental and sustainability initiatives. Waste companies, including Cleanaway, have no influence on government landfill levies, which are applied to the weight of material.
At time of publishing, the following rate increases were correct as per local EPA advice. Not all states and territories apply a landfill levy and not all jurisdictions will apply an increase on 1 July 2021.
| 1 July 2021 SOLID WASTE LEVY RATES ($/Tonne) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Scheduled date | Scheduled rate (Metro) | Scheduled rate (Regional) |
| NSW | 1 July 21 | $147.10 | $84.70 |
| VIC | 1 July 21 | $105.90 | $93.19 |
| QLD | 1 July 21 | $85 | $85 |
| WA | No planned increase | $70 | $70 |
| SA | 1 July 21 | TBA | TBA |
| TAS | No planned increase | $0 | $0 |
| ACT | No planned increase | $0 | $0 |
| NT | No planned increase | $0 | $0 |
Waste export bans driving onshore recycling
To ensure that we recover as much material as possible for recycling and manage our waste appropriately within Australia, the Federal Government’s waste export bans have redefined how we manage certain waste types.
Cleanaway is well positioned to continue collecting and processing plastic and glass with proposals to make up to $115 million of investments in reprocessing facilities that ensure that material is optimised for recycling into new products.
| Date | Export ban details | Our response |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2021 | Unprocessed glass in a whole or broken state. Both formed packaging and flat sheet glass. | Cleanaway has a license to export cullet, which is a ‘furnace-ready’ form of processed Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) glass that can be used by recyclers.
Further glass beneficiation technology is coming in 2022 with new technology installations in Melbourne to clean and colour sort, processing 140,000 tonnes per annum of kerbside and CDS glass. |
| 1 July 2021 | Mixed plastics that are not of a single resin or polymer type or where further sorting, cleaning and/or processing is required before re-use. |
Mixed polymers Cleanaway’s sorting technology means that mixed plastic is only 5% of our material. This material can be further sorted at our Laverton Plastic Recovery Facility, or sold to other domestic processors.Mixed residual plastics Cleanaway is working with mechanical and and chemical recycling partners to establish recycling solutions and processing for this waste stream. |
| 1 July 2022 | Single resin or polymer plastics that have not been reprocessed. For example, cleaned and baled PET bottles. |
Circular Plastics Australia (PET) The Albury plastic recycling facility is progressing well and on track to begin operations in December 2021.The facility will recycle the equivalent of 1 billion 600ml PET plastic bottles each year to be used as a raw material to produce food and beverage packaging. Circular Plastics Australia (PE) The plastic recycling plant in Melbourne will convert 20,000 tonnes of kerbside HDPE & PP plastic waste into 18,000 tonnes of food-grade and non-food grade pellets. The plant will be located on a currently vacant section of Cleanaway’s Laverton North MRF site. The plant is expected to be commissioned by December 2022.Circular Plastics Australia (WA) The proposed plastic recycling plant in WA will see more than 17,000 tonnes of kerbside PET, HDPE & PP plastic waste processed into nearly 14,000 tonnes of resin and polymer flake. This plant will also process post-industrial recycled plastic.Laverton North Plastic Recovery Facility Currently sorting kerbside plastic into five different streams, which are sold to recyclers locally and offshore. Once the new Circular Plastics Australia facilities are operating, they will process almost all of this sorted material.LDPE Cleanaway is currently working with the government to establish viable processing and circular solutions for LDPE and our customers. |
| 1 July 2024 | Mixed and unsorted paper and cardboard. | Although clean cardboard remains a strong recyclable commodity, more needs to be done with lower grade mix papers from MRFs. Innovative technology to process mixed paper and cardboard is being investigated to ensure we’re ready for the ban. |