South Australian councils have been asked to provide their feedback on the future of waste and recycling processes in the state.
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is reviewing the Environment Protection (Waste to Resources) Policy 2010 to modernise South Australia’s approach to the regulation of resources and waste and enable the development of a more circular economy.
A discussion paper, Beyond recycling: Moving SA towards a more circular economy, has been released for a three-month consultation period, which commenced on 23 September.
The discussion paper explores several key policy review areas including:
- Supporting the transition to a circular economy
- Avoiding waste generation
- Maximising resource recovery
- Supporting a strong market for recovered resources
- Protecting the environment and human health from waste pollution
- Circular economy metrics, reporting and transparency
Feedback will help inform how the existing Environment Protection (Waste to Resources) Policy 2010 may be amended and what else may be included in a future draft version.
The EPA will publish a document responding to submissions once the public consultation process closes.
Following this, a new draft policy will be released for public consultation and there will be another opportunity to provide further comment.
LGASA is developing a submission on behalf of South Australia’s local government sector.
It encourages councils to first read the discussion paper informing the review of the Environment Protection (Waste to Resources) Policy 2010 via the YourSAy Engagement page.
LGASA then invites councils to give input into its submission by 5pm Friday 6 December 2024.
There are several policy review areas which are especially relevant to local government, including:
- Municipal solid waste and proposed kerbside collection requirements
- Circular procurement
- Prohibited landfill waste
- Unlawful disposal of waste
- Reporting requirements
To inform councils about the discussion paper and policy review, LGASA is hosting a webinar with EPA.
During this online session, councils can have questions answered and gain more information about the review and the consultation process.
The webinar is set to be held on 9 October from 10:30am to 11:30am. Click here to register for the session.
