A new group of experts will advise the government on the nation’s transition to a circular economy by 2030. It will take into account products from all sectors that are designed and manufactured.
Professor John Thwaites will lead the expert panel, which includes Chief Scientist Dr. Kathy Foley and CSIRO boss Dr. belong to Larry Marshall.
Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek used a speech at the Circularity Conference in Sydney on Friday to name the group.
“A circular economy will create jobs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and the amount of waste we send to landfill,” the minister said in a statement.
“This transition is really exciting for the environment and for the economy.”
The decision to set up the expert group followed a meeting of all Australian environment ministers in October.
At the meeting, ministers agreed to work with the private sector to boost markets and achieve a circular economy within the next eight years. This would be achieved by avoiding waste and pollution and keeping materials in use.
Plibersek said that while Australians wanted to use fewer single-use items, they didn’t have the right attitudes in place to help them reduce waste.
With more than 70% of the environmental impact of a single item being ‘locked in’ at the design stage, it is clear that more focused efforts should be made early in a product’s life cycle to minimize its waste.
“Better waste management and more effective recycling are important – but they alone are not enough. As a country, we need to do more to avoid waste in the first place and make better use of recovered resources,” said Plibersek.
For Australia to meet its net-zero targets, a “system-wide” change is needed, added Science and Industry Secretary Ed Husic.
He pointed to a $15 billion national recovery fund to revitalize the local industrial base and ensure a net-zero economy also creates opportunity.
“A circular economy will ensure that we are on the right track to make these changes and support the energy transition,” said Husic.
“It’s a great opportunity to create manufacturing systems that are optimized to be less resource intensive, produce less waste and have less impact on the environment.”
The Environment Secretary said she looks forward to working with her state and territory counterparts and the Expert Group to advance design efforts to limit waste products.
“A circular economy will create jobs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and the amount of waste we send to landfill,” Plibersek said.
“This transition is really exciting for the environment and for the economy.”
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