Australia Oversteps the Mark

Australia Oversteps the Mark

Earth Overshoot Day – what is it and why does it matter

Last week Australia reached an unwanted milestone – as a nation we reached Earth Overshoot Day. Earth Overshoot Day marks the day in the year when a nation has in effect exhausted its annual allocation of natural resources that it uses to sustain its population and economy. The earlier in the year it is, the worse the result. It effectively means that we are living beyond our environmental means. Australia is the 11th fastest country to reach its Overshoot Day.

Viewed in a different way, if the entire global population consumed at the same rate as we do here in Australia, we would need 4.5 Earths to support humanity. By any measure this is not sustainable.

Taking positive steps

Whilst the assessment is alarming the findings should serve as a warning bell on the need for action. At ANZRP we believe there is much we can do and do quickly to hasten our transition to a circular economy which reduces waste and preserves our resources for the benefit of future generations and the productive economy. ANZRP works closely with its members to advocate and be a catalyst for positive change. In the space in which we operate encompassing e-waste and e-stewardship, there are a raft of measures that we are working on or supporting. These include:

• Advocating strongly for the federal government to expand the scope of the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS) by including a wider range of electrical and electronic goods and appliances for reuse and recycling at the end of life.
• Consistently striving to achieve and exceed the material recovery target (MRT) of 90% set under the NTCRS.
• Pushing to have the objectives of the NTCRS broadened so that product reuse is included, thereby enabling the scheme to move up the waste hierarchy.
• Fostering design practices that focus on circularity, making sure that the products placed on the market are durable, repairable and ultimately still valuable when they reach end of use.
• Calling for urgent government action to introduce a regulated battery stewardship scheme which can strengthen the e-stewardship ecosystem as a whole.
• Proactively assisting the federal government to develop and implement its sustainable procurement policy for information and communication technology equipment which aims to reduce the environmental impact of federal Government procurement and boost the domestic circular economy.

All in all, there are many things we can do. The key to making this all happen is driving collaborative action between industry, government and the community.