| Other | The Australian Government awarded $600,000 to Boomerang Alliance’s Plastic Free Beaches Program to support Australian beachside cafes to transition away from single use plastics to reduce the amount of problematic single-use plastics and packaging that leaks into the environment.
| Completed |
| Other | Through the Reef Trust, the Australian Government is providing up to $5 million over five years for clean-up and prevention services to reduce marine debris in the Great Barrier Reef.
Australia is also supporting the implementation of the Pacific Regional Action Plan with $16 million in funding for the Pacific Ocean Litter Project. This Project assists Pacific Island countries with phasing out single-use plastics and changing the behaviour of plastic users, consumers and producers.
| On-going |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | All governments are working towards more harmonised and efficient approaches under the National Waste Policy Action Plan. This includes investigating options for harmonisation of kerbside recycling collection to improve recycling and reduce contamination.
Under the National Plastics Plan 2019, the Australian Government will fast-track the rollout of the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) so that by the end of 2023 approximately 80% of supermarket products will display the ARL. The ARL will also be rolled out to business-to-business packaging (27% of plastic packaging in Australia).
| On-going |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | Part 1: In 2019 Australia’s environment ministers agreed to the National Waste Policy Action Plan, which outlines actions and targets concerning plastic waste, including the ban on plastic waste exports (among other materials) and a phase out of problematic and unnecessary plastics by 2025, to make Australia a world leader in resource management and recovery.
On 15 April 2021 Environment Ministers identified eight problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic product types for industry to phase out nationally by 2025 (or sooner in some cases) under the National Waste Policy Action Plan.
The National Plastics Plan was released in March 2021, the Plan takes a whole-of-life-cycle approach to the plastics challenge. It includes actions to avoid and phase-out problematic and unnecessary plastics, improve product design, increase Australia’s recycling capacity, stimulate demand for recycled content, and prevent plastics from leaking into the environment.
The Australian Government is working with the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) to deliver the National Packaging Targets of, by 2025:
• 100 per cent of Australian packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025 or earlier.
• 70 per cent of Australia’s plastic packaging being recycled or composted
• 50 per cent average recycled content across all packaging
• phasing out of problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through design, innovation or by introducing alternative materials.
| On-going |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | Part 2. The waste export ban is Australia’s first step in taking responsibility for our own waste and using this resource to create jobs, spark innovation, and deliver strong environmental outcomes. In 2020-21 the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020 was passed, providing a national framework for the export of harmful waste streams as agreed by all governments.
Additionally, the $250 million Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) is on track to leverage over $1 billion of investment from the Australian Government, state and territory governments and industry for new or upgraded infrastructure to sort, process, recycle and remanufacture waste glass, tyres, plastic and paper.
| On-going |
| Scientific/technical activities | CSIRO in partnership with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water are developing a national plastic pollution web-based portal that can house existing and new pollution data collected by multiple stakeholders Australia wide. | On-going |
| Scientific/technical activities | The Australian Government has committed $14.8 million to address the challenge of ghost nets and plastic litter in the waters and beaches of the Gulf of Carpentaria.
The Ghost Nets Initiative is being delivered by Parks Australia in partnership with other government agencies, Indigenous organisations, and other key stakeholders to improve the health of our ocean, reduce threats to our marine life and boost Indigenous employment. Building on past and present efforts by Indigenous communities, environmental groups and private industry, the Ghost Nets Initiative is focussing on the following activities: The delivery of new technology to better detect, collect and dispose of ghost nets, which may include mobile recycling plants, satellite tags and tracking databases; Work conducted with Indigenous ranger groups to collect data on the source of ghost nets and coordinate retrievals and marine debris beach clean ups in the Gulf of Carpentaria, one of the nation’s hot spots for ghost nets drifting from foreign waters; and New trials to attach GPS tracking devices to ghost nets when an initial retrieval is not possible due to unsafe conditions. This will enhance our ability to continually track the nets while they are drifting and arrange for their immediate retrieval by an appropriate vessel.
| On-going |
