GOOD NEWS FOR PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP - AND MORE TO BE DONE
New legislation has passed through NSW Parliament which will put more onus on producers of hazardous items to clean up their mess, rather than councils, communities and taxpayers.
The Product Lifecycle Responsibility Bill 2025 allows for requirements across the entire life cycle of a product, including the development, design, creation, production, assembly, supply, use or re-use, collection, recovery, recycling or disposal of the regulated product.
The government has taken an important step in the right direction with this approach. Their bill, which passed with the support of the Greens, sets up a mandatory product stewardship framework that will apply to batteries in the first instance - but could and should apply to many other waste streams like solvents, some medical waste, appliances or textiles.
It would be a great shame for this opportunity to only be used to respond to fires caused by batteries and then gather dust on a shelf.
Read my full speech in Hansard here or watch the video below for a snapshot.