Have your input into how the Australian Federal Government manage waste

If you have a chance to write a brief letter today please take the time to make a submission to the Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources. Ends today – 31st January 2020

• You can upload your submission here
• Or you can email to reps@aph.gov.au

Read our letter/ use it to help you write your own. 

To whom it may concern,

As an individual and a small business owner, the weight of our environmental issues weighs on my shoulders daily. The environment is at the forefront of my mind when I make any decision regarding how I spend my money. I will always choose ethical and sustainable whilst consciously consuming. I feel as though Australians still have a long way to go before they also can shift their habits to be environmentally friendly. I believe this process of shifting habits can be made easier and sped up with the assistance of particular government led schemes and new/adjusted legislation.

Australia should have a national container deposit scheme: 10c is not enough of a motivation for individuals to collect their containers to return. I believe it could be up to $1. I remember it being closer to that amount in Germany back in 2012 and it was the norm to return your containers. The consumer of these glass, plastic and aluminium containers should have to pay more for them. There should be an additional tax/charge included which you get back when you return the containers to these container return machines/ facilities. The facilities need to be in places like Coles or Woolworths, easily accessible to the majority.

There needs to be extended producer responsibility where retailers and manufacturers are accountable for the waste created from the products they sell. 

Fashion retailers need to be held accountable for goods purchased and imported from non-ethical sources. There should be minimum requirements before a company is allowed to import clothing including: minimum fair work requirements, ethically and sustainably sourced materials.

Products need to be designed for repair, rather than planned obsolescence.

Packaging should only be allowable if there is a facility in Australia to recycle it. Polystyrene packaging should be banned

Small wrapped goods such as ‘share packs’ should be banned! Schools could be encouraged to have ‘waste free’ days where there are no bins put out and students must take home their waste with them, in order to encourage parents to send packaging free food to school. 

Balloon releases ought to be banned. They are guaranteed pollution, becoming litter in waterways, oceans and land.

All single use plastic should be banned – no exceptions!

Animal waste bags in parks should be paper bags instead of plastic.

Plastic bags should not be given out for free, and nor should a retailer profit the regulatory sale of thick plastic bags.  A levy from the sale of plastic bags should be allocated to an Environment fund. This funding should be distributed to support litter clean ups, community groups reducing waste, education, and innovative measures to reduce and better manage waste. 

Next to the Redcycle soft plastic bins out the front of Coles and Woolworths should also be bins to dump electronic waste.

More enticing rebates for using renewable energy would be beneficial as well as having incentives for purchasing electric/ hybrid modes of transport. 

Reduce size of curb side bins making them easier to clean and people more accountable of the waste they create.

Compost Green bins should be available wherever food is sold. This would ensure food waste is collected and composted.

I look forward to seeing a variety of government led initiatives being implemented in the immediate future which will have a long lasting positive impact on our planet.

Thank you for your time,

Camille and Olivia Chesterton

Rosie Lou Stationery