A circular economy prioritises resource conservation and efficiency to capture the greatest value from traditionally discarded materials. In addition, a circular economy reduces pollution, litter, and waste.
A more circular stewardship approach (creating an Australian Plastics Circular Economy) to plastic materials and products will help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Australian National Plastics recycling targets.
A strong, sustainable Australian chemicals and plastics sector, domestic manufacturing sector, recovery and recycling sectors, and industry-focused research are critical to realising a circular economy.
Immediate
- Financial incentives and policy measures that support investment in a suite of recycling technologies able to transform used products back into high-value resources , build recycling capacity and meet recycling targets.
Medium-term
- National waste policies that continue to support the principle of selection of material on merit and appropriate lifecycle analysis;
- Standardised collection, sorting and cleaning infrastructure to provide quality recycling feedstock at scale;
- The establishment of specifications and standards to verify raw material feedstocks, recycling outputs, and the recycled content of products;
- Support for programs such as Operation Clean Sweep® that help eliminate plastic pellet loss from the entire supply chain;
- Support for product and market development that create demand for re-usability and recycled content;
- Measures to ensure that imported materials and products meet Australian specifications, including APCO targets.
