The Greens have today announced a plan for a National Repairability Star Rating label system to overhaul the vicious cycle of production and waste that's straining our planet's resources and overwhelming its waste management capabilities.
To ensure products with embedded batteries - such as smartphones, scooters, children's toys, portable chargers, vacuums and electric toothbrushes - are safely recycled when they reach their end of life, the Greens are also pushing for a national deposit scheme to cut the growing risk of battery-related fires across Australia's recycling streams.
As stated by Greens spokesperson for waste and recycling, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson:
"The current vicious cycle of production and waste is straining our planet's resources and overwhelming its waste management capabilities.
"It is a toxic triumph of capitalism that companies profit off selling cheaply-made products, such as household appliances, that are designed to be replaced rather than repaired.
"We can't recycle our way out of this crisis. The best way to reduce waste is to stop it being created in the first place. This means extending the lifecycle of products through reuse and repair initiatives and creating secondary markets for recycled materials, in addition to banning hard-to-recycle materials.
"In a circular economy, everything is built for its end-of-life purpose, and everything has value - but in order to achieve this governments need to encourage, incentivise and enshrine the right to repair the things we own.
"A National Repairability Star Rating label system will help inform and empower consumer product knowledge and choice - but we need more Greens in parliament to make it possible, and to fight major parties' obsession with corporate profit at the expense of the planet."
As stated by Greens spokesperson for the environment, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young:
"Much of what is currently considered 'waste' is actually a valuable resource disposed of incorrectly, and anything else is a design flaw - but this problem has a political solution.
"Governments must hold big corporations to account to build a true circular economy where waste no longer exists because all necessary production has value and stays in a closed-loop system. A National Repairability Star Rating label system will go a long way to achieve this.
"South Australia has been at the forefront of tackling Australia's waste and recycling crisis - our Container Deposit Scheme has led the way for 45 years and is recognised as one of the most effective in the world.
"In addition to being the first Australian state to introduce a 10-cent deposit on beverage containers; in 2009 we were the first to ban single-use shopping bags; and in 2021 became the first to ban plastic straws. South Australia would be the perfect place for an e-waste deposit scheme trial because people here get it."
As stated by Greens candidate for Sturt, Katie McCusker:
"Incorrectly disposed e-waste items are wreaking havoc on the recycling and resource recovery sector, with years of government inaction now threatening the entire sector's daily operations.
"E-waste should never be disposed of in kerbside bins due to the growing risk of battery-related fires. Australia's waste and recycling sector suffers up to 12,000 battery-related fires a year because accessible and safe disposal options for products with embedded batteries currently don't exist.
"These avoidable fires are causing insurance premiums for the recycling sector to skyrocket, putting industry workers and the environment at immense risk, and increasing business costs by over $400,000 per business.
"We can't continue to allow big corporations that put these products onto the market to pass off financial losses and exclusively privatise profits. For a national deposit scheme to work, governments must force companies to take responsibility for the products they make - and this must include helping to fund safe disposal and processing of e-waste products.
"Change is possible, but in order to see it people need to vote for it."
