The Commonwealth Government has today released the Packaging Impacts Decision Regulation Impact Statement.
This statement analyses ten different options for a national approach to managing packaging waste and litter in Australia.
It has been found that none of the options for a Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) considered in the report would provide a net value when considering the overall cost.
The Tasmanian Government has also been considering a report that examines the costs and benefits of introducing a state based CDS in Tasmania. The report was undertaken by Marsden Jacob Associates, an independent company who also played a major consultancy role in preparing the Decision Regulation Impact Statement for the national study, and as a consequence have a high level of expertise and experience in assessment of CDS and other recycling models.
The Marsden Jacob Associates report indicates that a CDS introduced only at state level would come at a significant economic cost and would not be cost effective as part of the fight against litter.
It concluded that a state-based CDS would have a direct cost to Tasmania of approximately $10 million annually, a prohibitive cost for a scheme which does not tackle other common forms of litter such as cigarette butts, take-away containers and paper items.
The report also concluded that a Tasmanian scheme would not produce enough beverage containers to establish a viable domestic recycling industry. This means that low-value recovered containers would still have to be shipped to the mainland for reprocessing, which would offset many environmental and economic benefits.
The high annual costs of running a CDS mean that there would not be a net benefit to the Tasmanian community. As a result, the Government has decided not to introduce a state-based scheme.
Tasmania will continue to work with the other States and Territories to find national solutions to littering and recycling.
In August, the Government announced it would fund Keep Australia Beautiful (Tasmania) in 2014/15 with $30,000 to support their litter education and management programs, including the Sustainable Communities Awards.
The Government also provides over $11,000 to Keep Australian Beautiful for the national Litter Index survey.
These efforts build on the public education programs being run by the EPA and Tasmania's regional waste management bodies to encourage school children, their parents and the broader public not to litter. The Marsden Jacob Associates report is available at www.epa.tas.gov.au. The Packaging Impacts Decision Regulation Impact Statement is available at www.nepc.gov.au.
More Media Releases from the Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage