ATSE thanked the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water for the opportunity to respond to the consultation paper on developing a national framework for recycled content traceability.
ATSE recommended that the Department utilise the recommendations and the findings of ATSE’s Towards a Waste Free Future report in the development of the framework. The report showcases how technology can transform the waste and resource-recovery sector in Australia, and support the transition towards a thriving circular economy. ATSE’s recommendations in the report were as follows:
- Recommendation 1: A paradigm shift in design principles to avoid waste altogether – designing a product to be reusable, to facilitate repair, upgrade, parts replacement, and trade-in for remanufacture.
- Recommendation 2: A systems approach that acknowledges that all stakeholders in a product lifecycle have a role to play, facilitating greater resource productivity and creating demand for recovered materials.
- Recommendation 3: Government and industry to leverage technology to improve information quality, quantity, timeliness and transparency. Big data and analytics to inform decision-making by policy-makers, businesses and consumers
- Recommendation 4: A long-term policy and regulatory framework and targeted government investment that will provide clear signals and create investment certainty.
