Federal & State Stewardship & Circular Economy Initiatives

Governments in Australia are implementing a range of initiatives to address stewardship for batteries and other products.  The table below highlights important initiatives in each jurisdiction.

• Federal

  * Product Stewardship Act 2011
  * Support for National Stewardship Scheme
  * National Packaging Covenant
  * National Waste Policy

• Australian Capital Territory

  * 2025 target of 95% recovery and reuse
  * Reviewing the potential for Code(s) of Practice ACT to be used for collection, handling and treatment of batteries under the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Act 2016 (WMRR Act).

• New South Wales

  * Environment Protection Act 2017
  * Collected 51,698 kgs of handheld batteries in 2015/16
  * Chief Scientist funding for a Circular Economy Network

• Northern Territory

  * Plastic Bag Ban since 2011

• Queensland

  * Leadership of national battery stewardship scheme
  * Waste Reduction & Recycling Act 2011
  * End of waste framework
  * Container Refund Scheme
  * Plastic bag ban

• South Australia

  * Collected 40,000 kg of handheld batteries in 2015/16
  * Environment Protection (Waste to Resources) Policy 2010
  * Lead acid batteries are prohibited from disposal directly to landfill

• Tasmania

  * Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994
  * Tasmanian Waste and Resource Management Strategy 2009
  * Controlled Waste Management Strategy Draft Report January 2008
  * Hobart City Council introduced a battery drop off point

• Victoria

  * Collected 40,258 kgs of handheld batteries in 2016/17
  * Landfill levy is used to fund collections
  * Amending the Waste Management Policy to include a landfill ban on all electronic waste from including batteries
  * Leadership in stewardship for Photo Voltaic and Energy Storage Systems

• Western Australia

  * Collected 67,370 kg of handheld batteries in 2015/16
  * Household Hazardous Waste Program has 150 battery drop off points