Australia’s Waste Policy Framework

National Waste Policy 2018

Australia’s National Waste Policy sets three targets:

• 2030: 80% average waste recovery rate (vs. current ~60%)
• 2030: Halve per-capita waste generation (vs. current ~30 kg/capita/week to ~15 kg/capita/week)
• 2050: Zero waste to landfill (aspirational; mechanisms still developing)

The policy shifts focus from landfill to recovery: reuse, recycling, energy recovery. For organisations, this means minimising landfill waste, maximising material recovery, and redesigning products for circularity.

State-Based Regulations

State-based regulations are tightening: bans on single-use plastics (nationwide by 2025), phased bans on problematic waste streams (e.g., Victoria and South Australia bans on recyclable waste to landfill, effective 2027–2028), and extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes (e.g., container deposits, packaging regulation).

For organisations, compliance requires understanding your state’s waste legislation and proactively transitioning to compliant practices ahead of deadlines.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

EPR shifts waste management responsibility to producers. For organisations, this means you’re increasingly responsible for end-of-life product management—either directly or through compliance with producers’ EPR obligations. Designing products for circular recovery (easy disassembly, recyclable materials) is becoming compliance requirement, not discretion.

The Waste Hierarchy and Circular Economy Principles

The Waste Hierarchy

Best practice for waste management follows a hierarchy:

1. Prevention: Design out waste; minimise material use
2. Reuse: Extend product life; reuse in original form
3. Recovery: Recycle, composting, energy recovery
4. Disposal: Landfill (last resort)

For ESG strategy, emphasis prevention and reuse ahead of recycling. Recycling, while important, requires material recovery infrastructure (which varies in Australia) and energy input. Prevention (using less material) is most impactful.

Circular Economy Design

Circular economy principles require designing products and systems to keep materials in use, minimising waste:

• Design for longevity: Products should last longer, reducing consumption rate
• Design for disassembly: Products should be easily separated into material streams for recovery
• Material choice: Prioritise recycled content, avoiding single-use plastics and problematic materials
• Closed-loop systems: Collect, recover and remanufacture materials within your own systems
• Collaboration: Engage suppliers and customers in circular loops (e.g., take-back programs)

Circular economy is increasingly expected in corporate strategy (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, UNEP) and influencing procurement criteria (customers increasingly demand circular products).

Measuring and Reporting Waste for ESG

Waste Accounting

Measure waste by type (general, hazardous, construction and demolition) and disposal route (landfill, recycling, recovery, incineration). Typical metrics:

• Absolute: Tonnes waste to landfill, tonnes recycled, tonnes recovered (total and by type)
• Intensity: Waste per employee, per unit production, per revenue dollar
• Recovery rate: % of total waste diverted from landfill
• Waste per capita: kg/person/week (for facilities with staff consumption)

Scope 3 Emissions from Waste

Waste disposal generates emissions (Scope 3) through landfill methane and transport. Calculate as:

Waste Emissions (tCO₂e) = Tonnes Waste × Emission Factor (tCO₂e/tonne)

Landfill methane emission factors vary by waste type; municipal landfill averages ~0.5 tCO₂e per tonne. Recycling is lower (~0.05–0.1 tCO₂e/tonne due to transport and sorting). For net-zero strategy, minimising landfill waste directly reduces Scope 3.

Reporting Standards

GHG Protocol and AASB S2 guidance covers waste; report waste tonnes alongside emissions. Best practice: include waste reduction targets in net-zero strategy (e.g., “reduce landfill waste 80% by 2030”).

Building Circular Economy Strategy

Phase 1: Waste Baseline

Audit current waste management: what’s currently disposed, what’s recovered, what’s being paid for disposal vs. recovered. Identify highest-volume waste streams and disposal costs. Most organisations find 20–30% of waste to landfill could be prevented or recovered with process changes.

Phase 2: Prevention and Reduction

Identify opportunities to prevent waste generation:

• Procurement: Reduce packaging, source materials with minimal waste
• Operations: Reduce production scrap, improve process efficiency, minimise consumables
• Facilities: Reduce food waste, office waste through consumption reduction

Phase 3: Reuse and Recovery Infrastructure

Establish systems for material recovery:

• Recycling: Contracts with certified recyclers; participation in producer responsibility schemes
• Organic waste: Composting facilities or partnerships for food and garden waste
• Hazardous waste: Proper handling and recovery contractors (e.g., e-waste, batteries)
• Reuse: Donation programs, resale of serviceable products

Phase 4: Circular Product Design

For manufacturers and product companies, redesign for circularity:

• Reduce material intensity; design for longer life
• Use recycled content; avoid problematic materials (single-use plastics, non-recyclable composites)
• Design for disassembly; use standard materials for separation at end-of-life
• Establish take-back or recycling programs; close the loop by recovering end-of-life materials

Timeline: product redesign is often 2–5 year cycle; phase in across new product generations.

Phase 5: Supplier Engagement

For supply chain waste reduction, engage suppliers on:

• Packaging reduction and design for recycling
• Process waste minimisation
• Circular material sourcing

Include waste targets in supplier scorecards and contracts. Larger organisations can incentivise supplier circular economy adoption through tendering preferences.

Frequently Asked Questions