Robin Chapple MLC, Greens WA spokesperson on waste has welcomed the COAG Standing Committee on Environment and Water’s consideration of two options for a national container deposit system as part of its Regulatory Impact Statement.
“The inclusion of container deposit systems in this process is both courageous and welcomed, and seeing the Commonwealth Government stand up to the bully-boy tactics of industry groups is inspiring.
We fully support the current Western Australian Local Government Association campaign for a state-wide ‘cash for containers’ program and urge all local governments, conservation groups and concerned community members to get behind this push” said Mr Chapple.
A container deposit system would provide an equitable, ‘user pays’, market based system, which would ensure that the costs of container waste to the environment and society are borne by the consumer at point of consumption, and recovered at point of recovery / recycling, rather than shared inequitably across the community.
It is the Greens WA view that a well-designed and operated container deposit system can ensure that those creating container waste are directly ‘charged’ for its creation, but can also capture those in the waste ‘system’, such as tourists and other users, who might not ordinarily have to bear costs for the creation of waste into the Australian waste streams.
Thus the CDS represents a fair, ‘closed loop’ system which does not rely solely on waste solutions imposed by governments via rates, levies and taxes, but rather assigns costs and responsibility for waste directly to participants within the product chain to achieve specific system outcomes.
“I have noted with considerable disgust the transparent, scaremongering tactics employed by the beverage industry, and the insidious media campaigns and letters to politicians which I have also received, but am pleased to see that for the most part consumers have not been duped. Those who choose not to recycle pay for the environmental harm that this causes, those who choose to recycle are rewarded – it’s a fairly simple equation and one which just makes economic, social and environmental sense.”
