Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has announced a Ministerial Advisory Group on Circular Economy will be created to overcome the adversities faced by the government to develop an end-to-end supply chain framework.

Plibersek says the group will help to overcome a number of regulatory and commercial hurdles to develop a circular economy, as well as circular economy research and development. 

Climateworks Centre Chairman John Thwaites has been confirmed as the Group’s leader, with Australian Chief Scientist Cathy Foley and CSIRO Chief Executive Larry Marshall also named Members. Each Member will serve a two year term, with the remaining Members to be announced in due course.

“Better waste management and more effective recycling are important – but they aren’t enough on their own. As a country we must do more to design-out waste in the first place, and make better use of recovered resources,” Plibersek says.

“We know that Australians want to reduce their waste and use less disposable items in the first place – but we have to set up our economy to help them do this. More than seventy percent of a product’s environmental impact is locked in at the design stage, before a customer ever looks at it.

“This means we need to get things right at the start, well before we deal with its disposal. A circular economy will create jobs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and the amount of waste we put into landfill. This transition is really exciting for the environment and the economy.”

The announcement of the Group follows the Environment Ministers Meeting in October, where all state and federal Environment Ministers pledged to work with private entities to design out waste and pollution, keep materials in use and foster markets to achieve a circular economy by 2030.  

“A circular economy will ensure that we are on track to make these changes and support the energy transformation,” says Minister for Science and Industry, Ed Husic.

“It’s a great opportunity to create manufacturing systems that are optimised to be less resource intensive, produce less waste, and have less impact on the environment.”

The Federal Government is aiming for an 80 percent average recovery rate across all waste streams by 2030, as per its National Waste Policy Action Plan. The Albanese reaffirmed its plans to allocate $60 million to the Recycling Modernisation Fund in the October Federal Budget.