You may have heard of MobileMuster, B-cycle (battery recycling) or Tyre Stewardship Australia and wondered what they do? They are some of the schemes on the growing list of government accredited industry-led voluntary product stewardship schemes.
Product stewardship schemes take various forms, but have in common the aim of manufacturers, brands producers and retailers working collectively to actively take responsibility for managing the environmental impacts of products and materials over their entire lifecycle.
This article looks at the different types of product stewardship schemes in Australia, and why companies should consider joining one.
Key takeaways
- Product stewardship schemes are becoming increasingly prevalent in Australia.
- Manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of products on the Minister for Environment’s priority list should consider joining existing, or establishing new, product stewardship schemes, or else face regulation.
- The Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence has a wealth of knowledge and experience on product stewardship schemes and is a great place to start if you’re looking to develop, or need assistance with, a product stewardship scheme.
Product stewardship schemes in Australia
In Australia, the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020 (Cth) (Act) establishes 3 types of product stewardship schemes:
MobileMuster recently celebrated having recycled over 16 million mobile phones in the last 25 years, totalling over 2,000 tonnes of mobile phone waste collected.[1]
1. Accredited voluntary schemes, which are typically industry-led arrangements (or in some cases can be individual business led schemes) designed to maximise the continued use of certain products and their waste material over their life cycle, and reduce the impact on human and environmental health from those products. These schemes can be accredited if the Minister is satisfied they will result in an overall benefit to the environment, or human health and safety, over the life cycle of the relevant product, and having regard to certain practical matters (like whether there are adequate financial arrangements and funding to achieve the proposed outcomes);
The National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme is a co-regulatory arrangement, established in 2011 to give Australian households and small businesses free access to industry-funded collection and recycling services. Its rules are set out in the Recycling and Waste Reduction (Product stewardship – televisions and computers) Rules 2021 (Cth).
2. Co-regulatory arrangements, which require a defined group of manufacturers, importers, distributors and users of products to be members of arrangements approved by the Minister. These arrangements must have outcomes specified in rules. ‘Administrators’ of these arrangements are required to take all reasonable steps to ensure the outcomes are achieved in accordance with the rules; and
3. Mandatory schemes, which require specified persons to take, or not take, specified action in relation to products. This may include restrictions on the manufacture or import of products, or requirements relating to the design, reuse, recycling or recovery of products.
Minister’s priority list (aka the ‘watch list’)
Each year, the Minister is required to publish a list of products she is considering for potential regulation under the Act. The Minister must set out the actions she recommends be taken in relation to each of those listed products and the timeframes for those actions.
Once those timeframes are up, the Minister must review whether her recommended actions have been taken and, if not, make further recommendations in relation to the product or decide that some form of regulation under the Act is appropriate.
Included in the Minister’s 2023-24 priority list are:
- Clothing textiles, for which a National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme – called Seamless – is expected to be fully operational by July 2024;
- Tyres, for which an accredited industry-led product stewardship scheme already exists. In this case, the Minister wants to see less ‘free riding’ by those benefiting from the scheme but not contributing. She has warned tyre importers not currently members of the scheme that they should commence participation by November 2024 to avoid government regulation;
- Plastics in health-care products in hospitals, for which there doesn’t yet appear to be a product stewardship scheme. The Minister wants to see manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers demonstrating improved and measurable product stewardship actions by November 2024, or they’ll face potential regulation;
- Mattresses, for which a Bedding Stewardship Scheme exists. The Minister wants to see mattress and bedding companies which are not currently members commence participation by November 2024, or they’ll face potential regulation; and
- Child car seats, for which a voluntary industry-led scheme – called Seatcare - is being implemented in 2024.
Growing prevalence of product stewardship schemes
More than 15 products have been included in the Minister’s priority lists since 2013. At least 2 voluntary schemes (Seamless and Seatcare) are currently under development and expected to become fully operational in 2024. And 4 products previously on the Minister’s priority lists are now slated for regulation – single use plastics, oil containers, small electronics and electrical equipment and photovoltaic systems – ie solar panels and their associated hardware.
There is also increasing knowledge and understanding of how product stewardship schemes can be successfully developed and implemented in Australia. The Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence recently held its first Australian Product Stewardship Forum, with the Minister sharing her insights as well as a series of other leading product stewardship directors and executives sharing their experiences and learnings.
Benefits of being proactive when it comes to product stewardship schemes
The Minister has said that being on her priority list effectively means you’re already on a path to regulation.
Companies in industries wanting to write their own rules when it comes to product stewardship should therefore consider taking steps to develop their own product stewardship schemes, before they’re put under time pressure by being included on the Minister’s priority list.
Besides benefiting the environment and human health and safety, product stewardship schemes can also benefit companies by improving their reputation with customers and other stakeholders, supporting their sustainability credentials in government tender/procurement processes, and maximising the value of their products.
What’s next
We’ve helped the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence, Seamless and other product stewardship schemes. If you would like to discuss anything raised in this alert, please reach out to the authors.
