BUYING more products using recycled materials will go a long way towards solving the recycling crisis, according to councillor Stephen Nugent.
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Cr Nugent will put a motion to Orange City Council's meeting on Tuesday night to review material procurement policies and practices with the intention of increasing procurement of recycled products.
China decided last year not to accept Australia's waste unless it met rigorous contamination standards - Orange's recycling costs rose by $60 a tonne so contractors could investigate other ways to process the material.
Councils were offered relief money, up to $75 a tonne, to cover the immediate cost, but little else has occurred since and Local Government NSW relaunched its Save Our Recycling Campaign to encourage innovation in recycling.
Cr Nugent attended the LGNSW annual conference last month, which resolved to lobby the state government for greater access to the waste levy to fund infrastructure and research, as well as place a responsibility on manufacturers to cut the production of soft plastics.
Recycling creates three times the jobs that landfill waste management does.
- Councillor Stephen Nugent
"[LGNSW president Linda] Scott spoke of the need to develop a circular economy where recycling is processed in Australia and made into products for which there are local markets," Cr Nugent said in his motion.
"Cr Scott called on councils to play a part in that by favouring products using recycled materials in their procurement practices wherever possible."
Cr Nugent said recycling had the potential to create three times the jobs compared to landfill waste management.
"Perhaps it's timely to review what else we could be doing to stimulate local industries and local markets for recycled products," he said.
The Council of Australian Governments has already agreed to ban the export of non-recycled plastic, paper, glass and tyres, with a deadline to be set early next year and consultation is under way.
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