Extended Producer Responsibility in the Australian Construction Industry

Abstract

With the COVID-19 outbreak across the world, policymakers and authorities have realised that they cannot solve the emerging issues using conventional policies and practices. COVID-19 has severely affected many industries, including construction and demolition (C&D) waste management and C&D waste resource recovery sector. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and schemes alike are policy instruments that prevent waste generation and promote a circular economy in the construction industry. These schemes are long adopted in various countries for different waste streams. EPR policy development and implementation, particularly for C&D waste, is still at an early stage in Australia. This study aims to review the Australian regulatory environment and practice to identify barriers and enablers towards successful policy development and implementation of C&D waste-related EPR. This study is based on secondary data that are publicly available. The document analysis was conducted to identify the level of regulatory and other stakeholders support in Australia. Following three rounds of examination of sources and applying multiple selection criteria, 59 different sources were reviewed in total. The results showed that there is widespread support among different stakeholders to develop EPR and expand the existing regulation to other materials. The barriers were cost and time implications for EPR policy establishment and enforcement, diversity of stakeholders involved, construction product lifecycle, responsibility of manufacturers, complexity in implantation of EPR regulations, modification inbuilt facilities and health and safety issues. Recommendations are made to alleviate these challenges. The outcome of this study could serve as a guideline for designing effective EPR policies.

Analysis on the Optimal Recycling Path of Chinese Lead-Acid Battery under the Extended Producer Responsibility System

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From outbreak of COVID-19 to launching of vaccination drive: invigorating single-use plastics, mitigation strategies, and way forward

“…Such major disruption in the recycling activities is even more exaggerated in developing countries like India, Brazil, Kenya, Haiti, Guatemala, and Indonesia, attributing to the severe crisis of funds in such countries. The reduced collection, along with the dearth in market demand for recycled plastics, has motivated numerous informal recycling sectors in bearing the brunt of the pandemic (Shooshtarian et al 2020a ; Shooshtarian et al 2021 ). Therefore, a significant reduction in plastic recycling in the context of unsustainable plastic production and an increase in waste production during a pandemic could pose a serious threat in a post-pandemic scenario.…”

Application of Sustainable Procurement Policy to Improve the Circularity of Construction and Demolition Waste Resources in Australia

“…The substantial amount of trash generated on construction sites is cited as a significant obstacle to the global expansion of the BE industry (Aslam et al 2020 ; Bao and Lu 2020 ; Shooshtarian et al 2021b ). Relevant literature has highlighted the importance of a policy approach to the sustainable management of this waste stream (Alhola et al 2019 ; Shooshtarian et al 2021d ). Sustainable procurement, among existing rules, has the potential to improve construction and demolition (C&D) waste management systems.…”

“…Consequently, it provides substantial environmental and social benefits related to resource efficiency, managing operational costs, increasing compliance with environmental legislation, addressing environmental concerns and generating end markets for C&D waste products (Ershadi et al 2021 ). This is significant in light of two key events that have recently impacted the waste recovery industry: COVID- 19 (Caldera et al 2022 ; Shooshtarian et al 2022a ) and new regulations in some countries (particularly China) to prohibit the import of waste from industrialised nations (Shooshtarian et al 2021d ). In the last two decades, efforts to operationalize sustainable procurement methods have gained steam.…”