Issues and Challenges Confronting the Achievement of Zero Plastic Waste in Victoria, Australia

Abstract

Despite the increase in popularity of the zero waste (ZW) concept, the successful implementation of this concept in waste management is still facing many challenges. The plastic recycling rate in Australia is at only about 9.4% (in 2017–2018). The state of Victoria (in Australia) has proposed an ambitious 10-year plan to upgrade its waste and recycling system and to divert about 80% of waste from landfills by 2030. The aim of this research is to study this currently proposed waste management plan and to develop a simulation model to assess the feasibility of achieving 80% diversion rate by 2030. The feasibility of achieving zero plastic waste by 2035 has also been assessed. In this direction, the existing knowledge of global ZW implementation has been reviewed to gain understanding of the challenges, obstacles, and uncertainties in achieving the ZW target. A simulation model is established using a method called double baselines. This method was developed to address the limitation of data availability for the model development. The model was run in 4 scenarios including one for Victoria’s current 10-year plan. Outcomes from the model are produced using six key considerations, including the rate of plastic consumption, waste to landfill, diversion rate, recycling rate, relative accumulative effort, and cost. The findings of this study point out that Victoria’s current plan for achieving an 80% diversion rate by 2030 is possible. On the other hand, the study results also suggest that achieving zero plastic waste by 2035 is less likely to happen. Hence, opportunities for improvement especially towards achieving the zero plastic waste are also presented.

Review of the Circular Economy of Plastic Waste in Various Countries and Potential Applications in Indonesia

“…South Korea (60%) [19], the Netherlands (57%) [18] and Taiwan (51%) [11] are examples of best practice countries that have succeeded in recycling their plastic waste. On the other hand, Singapore (6%) [10], USA [17], Australia [21] and Qatar [9] (9%) respectively are countries with low plastic waste recycling rates. The reasons for the success of the circular plastic waste economy program in the three countries can be seen in Table 3.…”

“…This shows that countries in Asia are currently running quite IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1098/1/012014 3 fast towards a circular economy. The countries involved in the review and being discussed in the selected paper are Sub-Saharan Africa [8], European Union [4], South Africa [7], Denmark [6], Qatar [9], Singapore [10], Taiwan [11][12], Brazil [13], India [1], Italy [3], Kenya [14], Malaysia [15], Sweden [16], USA [17], Netherlands [18], South Korea [2][19], China [20] and Australia [21].…”