Product stewardship schemes are designed to support the environmentally sound management of products and materials over their whole lifecycle. They oblige producers and importers of certain materials to ensure adequate processing, which creates demand for the associated recycling infrastructure.
This approach recognises that every organisation and individual that produces, imports, sells, uses or disposes of a product is responsible for reducing its environmental and health and safety impacts. However, current models of product stewardship do not extend through the entire product chain.
The National Waste Policy Action Plan 2019 outlines the critical role product stewardship will play in Australia's move towards a circular economy.53
The Australian Government's Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020 also recognises the importance of product stewardship. It puts in place several measures to encourage new schemes and expand existing ones.
They include a new streamlined process for government accreditation of voluntary product stewardship arrangements. Government accreditation demonstrates to businesses and consumers that the scheme has the Australian Government's stamp of approval.
The Minister's Product List is another mechanism for encouraging industry-led product stewardship schemes. It can give notice that if an industry is not capable of developing such a scheme within a reasonable period, alternative options will be considered, including regulation.
The Minister's Product List has effectively encouraged numerous schemes, including those for mobile phones, paint and plastic oil containers.
" Every organisation and individual that produces, imports, sells, uses or disposes of a product is responsible for reducing its environmental and health and safety impacts. "
The National Product Stewardship Investment Fund (NPSIF) has also contributed to developing these and other product stewardship arrangements by providing grant funding. This helps with initial development or enables expansion to cover a broader range of products.
The Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence54 was established with the support of an NPSIF grant. It provides advice and assistance to industries wanting to develop product stewardship arrangements, using mentoring, best-practice approaches and technical guidance.
The Centre also builds consumer awareness of the benefits of choosing environmentally sustainable products. In addition, it works with the Australian Government to encourage and celebrate leaders in Australian stewardship innovation and performance through awards and public recognition.
Where an industry is not able to develop a product stewardship scheme, there are alternative options for pursuing Australia's waste and recycling objectives. They include:
• co-regulation, such as the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme
• mandatory regulation, such as the Product Stewardship for Oil scheme, which is designed to provide incentives to increase the recycling of used oil.