Hon Neil Thomson questions the Minister for Environment regarding the export of plastic waste and the mechanisms in place to ensure its recycling. The Minister responds that the Australian government regulates plastic waste exports and that they do not receive reports from exporting companies.

AnsweredQoN 1562Legislative Council
Asked
30 November 2023
Portfolio
Environment

QuestionView source ↗

PLASTIC WASTE —
MANAGEMENT
1562. Hon NEIL THOMSON to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Environment:
I note that hundreds of tonnes of
plastic waste are exported from Western Australia to countries like Vietnam,
Thailand and Indonesia.
(1) What mechanism does the
minister have to ensure that the waste is being recycled?
(2) Does the
minister have any reports from the companies that exported the waste that
provide evidence of the recycling of that waste?
(3) If yes to (2), will the
minister please table the reports?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. On behalf of the Minister for Environment I provide
the following answer.
(1) The
Australian government introduced export controls on plastics in 2020. Since 1
July 2022, only plastic that has been sorted into single resin or polymer type
and further processed—for example, flaked or pelletised plastics—can
be approved for export by the Australian government. Single resin plastics are
high quality and highly sought after to provide feedstock for plastic
manufacturing.
(2) No.
(3) Not
applicable.

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