Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, as you heard on the show yesterday, the Northern
Territory Government denounce the expanding of the Container Deposit scheme
to include any ready to drink container of up to
three leaders, including spirits and wine bottles. It will be
a first for the Northern Territory, with the Minister for
Lands Planning an Environment Joshua Burgoyne saying the expansion is
a win for Territorians and indeed the environment with more
(00:23):
eligible containers to maximize returns and cleaner public spaces. Now
joining us on the line is Waste and Recycling Industry
Association Northern Territory CEO Adam Gray. Good morning to.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
You, Adam, Good morning, how are you.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Ye're really good. Great to have you on the show.
I mean, Adam, this seems like a great move, a
very positive move. Is it a win from your perspective?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah, Look, our industry is really supportive of the expansion
of the CDs scheme in the Northern Territory. No, it's
a hugely successful product steel chip arrangement. It's really well
accepted by the community and it certainly helps our industry
in resource recovery by removing things like glass from collection systems,
which has a tendency to cause problems in recovery of
(01:10):
other materials like paper and cardboard when it breaks. So
we think this is a really positive move.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
So what's your understanding of exactly what's going to be
included as of I believe it'll be a little later
this year once the legislation passes through parliament.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Look, the details sit with the Northern Territory government. We
understand that there's an expansion of the scheme to include
in particular wine and spirit bottles and bottles up to
three leaders that are held. So yeah, really positive, really
positive for the move, and it's really positive from the
(01:46):
Northern Territory government perspective in the sense of national harmonization
of container deposit schemes across the country. It can be
quite challenging for our industry to manage different schemes and
different requirements in different states. It's a lot of our
members are nationally operating and so this brings Non Territory
in line with some of our other national jurisdictions. And yeah,
(02:11):
so it's quite a positive movement on the number of fronts.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
So obviously bringing us in line with those other jurisdictions.
I mean, Adam, why why has it sort of taking
it so long to get to this point where we
are in line with other jurisdictions.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yeah, well yeah, I'm bringing government to agencies from across
the country. Can sometimes lead to a lot of complexity
and negotiation. And we saw Queensland leap ahead with introduction
of wine and spirit bottles ahead of the national harmonization approach.
And we know that South Australia is still struggling to
(02:47):
come to terms with lobbying from the wine industry in particular.
So we're really positive that the Northern Territory government is
also taking this step and we hope that gradually that
momentum builds and brings the other other jurisdictions in line
as well.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
So in terms of what currently happens, I guess with
those you know, with those wine bottles, with some of
those other bigger bottles, even like the milk bottles, do
they currently like do they just go to landfill? Now?
What happens in the Northern Territory right now?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Look, there certainly is a lot of glass that ends
up in landfill. However, the bulk of the CDs material
glass is collected, it's taken through deposit scheme. Collection agencies
the bulk of it is recovered. So we know that
the redemption rate in the Northern Territory has been increasing
(03:42):
year on year. It's now over eighty percent, which is
really positive. So over eighty percent of bottles that are
entered into the market are collected at the end through
the CDs scheme and where they're going. The bulk of
them are heading into State, most of them are heading
down to South Australia and they are proceeds through Aurora,
a glass recycling facility and put back into the economy
(04:05):
as new bottles.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Adam, I mean, it's this sounds like it is a
really good move. I know for a lot of our listeners,
a lot of people will see this as a positive
thing being able to you know, to take those different
larger bottles obviously through the container deposit scheme. Is there
other things that we could be doing in the Northern
Territory at the moment to you know, to improve the
ways in which we recycle and and to you know,
(04:28):
to sort of improve even further.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, absolutely so. Our industry has done a couple of
really interesting pieces of work recently. So we've highlighted the
economic benefit that the waste and resource recovery industry provides
to the Northern Territory, and we've also provided some advice
to the Northern Territory government about how we think it
could move what is relatively a linear pathway for a
(04:54):
lot of materials, where we buy them, we consume them,
we put them into a bins, and the end up
in landfill. We know that there are jobs to be created,
there's economic benefits to come from resource recovery and recycling.
And one of the biggest things that we think the
industry has identified is every state and territory nationally places
a levy on materials that are deposited into landfill, except
(05:18):
for the Northern Territory. And it is a blunt instrument,
but we know it works. It encourages investment and resource recovery.
It encourages growth in jobs and market development with new
businesses coming into the jurisdiction when we price the cost
the true cost of throwing materials straight into landfill. So
(05:39):
we've certainly presented that to government, and we're really interested
in opening the dialogue not just with the government but
the wider community about the benefits that pricing landfill will come.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
So Adam how would that work. So essentially then businesses
would be footing any bill of anything that does need
to go into landfill. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Look, so essentially how works is we you know, the
market says, you know, the price of taking material to
landfill increases, so why don't you look for alternatives? And
this is where businesses will invest. They will know that
the market is saying you are looking for an alternative
pathway for that material, and they know what the price is,
(06:21):
you know, to deposit in a landfill, and they will largely,
you know, price themselves lower than that. And so all
of a sudden you start to see industry investing in
resource recovery opportunities because they know that there's a pathway
for some of these materials. One of the key things
that we need to work on are markets. So there's
no point developing a resource recovery and recycling business unless
(06:43):
you've got an access point for the product at the
end of the day. So what are those markets? And
so there's a bit of work to do around where
are our most appropriate markets. And some of it is
going to be into state, some of it is going
to be overseas, but certainly some of those markets sit
within the territory itself.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Look at how much it could potentially like the additional
costs that it could be for you know, for a
business or an organization. Do we have any idea what
that might look like.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Look the design of a of a levee on landfill is,
you know, is an intricate thing. The industry would certainly
be suggesting a gentle entry, so you know which every
jurisdiction has done. Start low, gradually build up the systems
and practices and acceptance within community and businesses. We know
(07:30):
that it's it's a very marginal increase for you know,
curb side collections, so you know, your wastein that you
present to the curb side from a residential perspective, and
so it's a it's a minor it's a minor impost
for what we know are significant gains. And we know
(07:51):
that the gains are not just environmental, because throwing material
and landfill was a real loss of you know, valuable products.
But we also know that it's a real loss in
economic value to the territory because we're not taking advantage
of the new businesses and economic activity and jobs that
a levy will will create because it has done so
(08:12):
in every other jurisdiction in Australia.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Adam, I can imagine that some listening this morning, certainly
some of those businesses listening this morning might be thinking
to themselves, oh my goodness, you know, this would be
another cost, you know, to add on when we're already
potentially doing it a bit tough. I mean, what would
you say to those listening this morning that are maybe
thinking that.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Look, what I would say is it's certainly not a
cost that's guaranteed, because if you can avoid sending material
to landfill, then you would certainly not be paying that cost.
So and we would also say that, you know, generally
we need to start valuing the true cost of putting
materials into landfill and losing them from our economy. And
(08:56):
our industry is about resource recovery and value adding. We
have moved largely beyond the conversation about the environmental benefits
of waste and resource recovery management because our industry does
a really good job of pulling out materials when there's
value to it. But we need to create we need
to be better at creating that value proposition. So I
(09:16):
would be saying to businesses, you can avoid the cost.
We just need to find a better way and a
better pathway for a lot of these materials that we're
simply just throwing into landfill.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Well, Adam Gray, really good to speak with you this morning,
and I think it is a conversation that I'm sure
plenty of people will be really interested in having, so
I appreciate you joining me on the show today.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
No problems anytime, Thank you
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Thanks so much for your time.
Well, as you heard on the show yesterday, the Northern
Territory Government denounce the expanding of the Container Deposit scheme
to include any ready to drink container of up to
three leaders, including spirits and wine bottles. It will be
a first for the Northern Territory, with the Minister for
Lands Planning an Environment Joshua Burgoyne saying the expansion is
a win for Territorians and indeed the environment with more
(00:23):
eligible containers to maximize returns and cleaner public spaces. Now
joining us on the line is Waste and Recycling Industry
Association Northern Territory CEO Adam Gray. Good morning to.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
You, Adam, Good morning, how are you.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Ye're really good. Great to have you on the show.
I mean, Adam, this seems like a great move, a
very positive move. Is it a win from your perspective?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah, Look, our industry is really supportive of the expansion
of the CDs scheme in the Northern Territory. No, it's
a hugely successful product steel chip arrangement. It's really well
accepted by the community and it certainly helps our industry
in resource recovery by removing things like glass from collection systems,
which has a tendency to cause problems in recovery of
(01:10):
other materials like paper and cardboard when it breaks. So
we think this is a really positive move.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
So what's your understanding of exactly what's going to be
included as of I believe it'll be a little later
this year once the legislation passes through parliament.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Look, the details sit with the Northern Territory government. We
understand that there's an expansion of the scheme to include
in particular wine and spirit bottles and bottles up to
three leaders that are held. So yeah, really positive, really
positive for the move, and it's really positive from the
(01:46):
Northern Territory government perspective in the sense of national harmonization
of container deposit schemes across the country. It can be
quite challenging for our industry to manage different schemes and
different requirements in different states. It's a lot of our
members are nationally operating and so this brings Non Territory
in line with some of our other national jurisdictions. And yeah,
(02:11):
so it's quite a positive movement on the number of fronts.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
So obviously bringing us in line with those other jurisdictions.
I mean, Adam, why why has it sort of taking
it so long to get to this point where we
are in line with other jurisdictions.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yeah, well yeah, I'm bringing government to agencies from across
the country. Can sometimes lead to a lot of complexity
and negotiation. And we saw Queensland leap ahead with introduction
of wine and spirit bottles ahead of the national harmonization approach.
And we know that South Australia is still struggling to
(02:47):
come to terms with lobbying from the wine industry in particular.
So we're really positive that the Northern Territory government is
also taking this step and we hope that gradually that
momentum builds and brings the other other jurisdictions in line
as well.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
So in terms of what currently happens, I guess with
those you know, with those wine bottles, with some of
those other bigger bottles, even like the milk bottles, do
they currently like do they just go to landfill? Now?
What happens in the Northern Territory right now?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Look, there certainly is a lot of glass that ends
up in landfill. However, the bulk of the CDs material
glass is collected, it's taken through deposit scheme. Collection agencies
the bulk of it is recovered. So we know that
the redemption rate in the Northern Territory has been increasing
(03:42):
year on year. It's now over eighty percent, which is
really positive. So over eighty percent of bottles that are
entered into the market are collected at the end through
the CDs scheme and where they're going. The bulk of
them are heading into State, most of them are heading
down to South Australia and they are proceeds through Aurora,
a glass recycling facility and put back into the economy
(04:05):
as new bottles.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Adam, I mean, it's this sounds like it is a
really good move. I know for a lot of our listeners,
a lot of people will see this as a positive
thing being able to you know, to take those different
larger bottles obviously through the container deposit scheme. Is there
other things that we could be doing in the Northern
Territory at the moment to you know, to improve the
ways in which we recycle and and to you know,
(04:28):
to sort of improve even further.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, absolutely so. Our industry has done a couple of
really interesting pieces of work recently. So we've highlighted the
economic benefit that the waste and resource recovery industry provides
to the Northern Territory, and we've also provided some advice
to the Northern Territory government about how we think it
could move what is relatively a linear pathway for a
(04:54):
lot of materials, where we buy them, we consume them,
we put them into a bins, and the end up
in landfill. We know that there are jobs to be created,
there's economic benefits to come from resource recovery and recycling.
And one of the biggest things that we think the
industry has identified is every state and territory nationally places
a levy on materials that are deposited into landfill, except
(05:18):
for the Northern Territory. And it is a blunt instrument,
but we know it works. It encourages investment and resource recovery.
It encourages growth in jobs and market development with new
businesses coming into the jurisdiction when we price the cost
the true cost of throwing materials straight into landfill. So
(05:39):
we've certainly presented that to government, and we're really interested
in opening the dialogue not just with the government but
the wider community about the benefits that pricing landfill will come.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
So Adam how would that work. So essentially then businesses
would be footing any bill of anything that does need
to go into landfill. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Look, so essentially how works is we you know, the
market says, you know, the price of taking material to
landfill increases, so why don't you look for alternatives? And
this is where businesses will invest. They will know that
the market is saying you are looking for an alternative
pathway for that material, and they know what the price is,
(06:21):
you know, to deposit in a landfill, and they will largely,
you know, price themselves lower than that. And so all
of a sudden you start to see industry investing in
resource recovery opportunities because they know that there's a pathway
for some of these materials. One of the key things
that we need to work on are markets. So there's
no point developing a resource recovery and recycling business unless
(06:43):
you've got an access point for the product at the
end of the day. So what are those markets? And
so there's a bit of work to do around where
are our most appropriate markets. And some of it is
going to be into state, some of it is going
to be overseas, but certainly some of those markets sit
within the territory itself.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Look at how much it could potentially like the additional
costs that it could be for you know, for a
business or an organization. Do we have any idea what
that might look like.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Look the design of a of a levee on landfill is,
you know, is an intricate thing. The industry would certainly
be suggesting a gentle entry, so you know which every
jurisdiction has done. Start low, gradually build up the systems
and practices and acceptance within community and businesses. We know
(07:30):
that it's it's a very marginal increase for you know,
curb side collections, so you know, your wastein that you
present to the curb side from a residential perspective, and
so it's a it's a minor it's a minor impost
for what we know are significant gains. And we know
(07:51):
that the gains are not just environmental, because throwing material
and landfill was a real loss of you know, valuable products.
But we also know that it's a real loss in
economic value to the territory because we're not taking advantage
of the new businesses and economic activity and jobs that
a levy will will create because it has done so
(08:12):
in every other jurisdiction in Australia.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Adam, I can imagine that some listening this morning, certainly
some of those businesses listening this morning might be thinking
to themselves, oh my goodness, you know, this would be
another cost, you know, to add on when we're already
potentially doing it a bit tough. I mean, what would
you say to those listening this morning that are maybe
thinking that.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Look, what I would say is it's certainly not a
cost that's guaranteed, because if you can avoid sending material
to landfill, then you would certainly not be paying that cost.
So and we would also say that, you know, generally
we need to start valuing the true cost of putting
materials into landfill and losing them from our economy. And
(08:56):
our industry is about resource recovery and value adding. We
have moved largely beyond the conversation about the environmental benefits
of waste and resource recovery management because our industry does
a really good job of pulling out materials when there's
value to it. But we need to create we need
to be better at creating that value proposition. So I
(09:16):
would be saying to businesses, you can avoid the cost.
We just need to find a better way and a
better pathway for a lot of these materials that we're
simply just throwing into landfill.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Well, Adam Gray, really good to speak with you this morning,
and I think it is a conversation that I'm sure
plenty of people will be really interested in having, so
I appreciate you joining me on the show today.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
No problems anytime, Thank you
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Thanks so much for your time.
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