ANZRP invited to join Federal Government Working Group to advise on future e-stewardship model for Australia

ANZRP is pleased and honoured that Chief Executive Officer, Warren Overton, has been nominated to join the Scheme Administration Working Group.

In 2022 the Honourable Tanya Plibersek MP, the Minister for the Environment and Water, announced the Australian Government’s intent to develop a regulated product stewardship scheme that builds on the television and computer recycling scheme and looks to include small electronic equipment and solar panels. The motivation for this announcement stems from commitments under Australia’s National Waste Policy Action Plan and our target to achieve an 80% resource recovery rate, for all waste streams, by 2030.

The working group brings together experts from industry, government and community groups who will provide advice to government on how Australia’s e-stewardship model can best deliver on these national aspirations. Warren brings formidable insight to the working group having been at the helm of ANZRP since 2018 and he has experienced firsthand how smart policy, premised on understanding the dynamics of industry and the aspirations of government, can be shaped to deliver enhanced better outcomes for the economy, the environment and the community.

What role will the Scheme Administration Working Group play?

The Scheme Administration Working Group will identify preferred approaches to scheme administration. This will feed into work being overseen by the E-stewardship Working Group which will consider and make recommendations on the following matters:

• Jurisdictional alignment – how the scheme will interact with existing or proposed state/territory legislation, landfill bans, waste management guidelines, standards, and practices.
• Industry alignment – advise on how potential new regulation for e-stewardship will impact on the recycling and re-use sectors; installers and retailers; and importers/producers of products captured by the proposal.
• Access and equity – take into consideration how communities across the country can get fair and reasonable access to the service(s) and making sure that scheme targets and obligations are fulfilled across all States and Territories and paid for in an equitable manner by industry.

What should a future E-stewardship scheme look like?

ANZRP welcomes the government’s plan to build and expand on the current scheme. However, it will be important that any future arrangements retain those aspects of the scheme that have made it a success to date, such as brand agency. It is also timely to be looking at how we can drive and incentivise continuous improvements in recycling standards as well as provide for a level playing field that offers services to communities right across the country. These are some of the challenges that we face, and ones that we look forward to playing a role in addressing.