Industry stakeholders have weighed in after the Productivity Commission released its final report on the opportunities in Australia’s circular economy.
As regulations shift and virgin materials become harder to access, recycled materials have taken on a larger role within the sector.
The topic has been back in the spotlight after the Productivity Commission released its inquiry into Australia’s circular economy and the opportunities within it, specifically focusing on ways to improve productivity and efficiency.
The commission wanted to provide ways to measure progress in Australia’s circular economy and address existing barriers at the state, territory, and national levels.
“Nationally coordinated regulatory reform is key to driving progress on sustainable and efficient materials use,” commissioner Alison Roberts said upon the report’s release.
In focus
There are many examples of these practices in the quarrying sector. As the report highlighted, at the industry level, the circular economy has moved beyond a talking point to a reality, driven primarily by commercial necessity in many industrial environments, including quarrying. The result in the past few years has seen:
Diversified revenue streams, such as recycled materials, turn waste into a sellable product.
Reduced operational costs, especially landfill costs.
Improved usage of existing materials without increasing production costs.
Increased competitiveness when tendering on projects.
“The Productivity Commission has recognised what our industry has consistently been saying for years. Australia can only unlock the benefits of a circular economy when outdated and inconsistent regulations are modernised to encourage innovation,” Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia chief executive officer Michael Kilgariff said.
“Our members are already applying circular economy principles at scale through established material reuse, recycling and emissions reduction practices.
“What is now required is a regulatory and standards environment that supports the safe, effective use of these materials in construction and infrastructure.”
One of the key findings from the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into the circular economy was that governments can support this transition through reforming regulations and strengthening product obligations. By streamlining regulations, including material standards and specifications, companies could produce more sustainable materials at lower cost.
“We are expected to spend $270 billion on public infrastructure in the next four years alone. Allowing greater use of recycled or less emissions-intensive materials in these projects could reduce the economic and environmental cost of this work,” commissioner Joanne Chong said.
The Productivity Commission recommended that the federal, state and territory governments form a “consistent position” on material standards and specifications by undertaking an assessment of the existing standards, including Australian standards and state infrastructure technical standards.
The report noted variances among states in the “allowable content” for infrastructure and construction projects, such as recycled materials.
For this reason, the commission recommended changes to standards that would encourage greater uptake of sustainable materials by replacing current standards and specifications with performance-based criteria or by unifying standards across the state and territories.
Of interest to the heavy industrial sector, the report examined the impact of repurposing heavy-industrial land, such as exhausted mines, for a broader range of uses. The commission noted that 240 mines are expected to reach the end of their productive life between 2021 and 2040.
The Productivity Commission suggested that state and territory governments should review their regulatory frameworks and processes that guide mine closure and transition so the land could be re-purposed for a wider range of uses, including clean energy projects.
Kilgariff said the construction materials sector would greatly benefit from unifying some existing material standards and technical specifications.
“Moving away from overly prescriptive requirements and toward performance-based standards is critical to enabling the safe, durable and large-scale use of recycled and lower-carbon materials,” he said
“With significant public infrastructure investment ahead, even modest reforms to standards and procurement can deliver real productivity, cost and emissions benefits.
“Different rules in different states do not deliver better outcomes; it simply increases cost and delays for projects and businesses operating nationally.
“A coordinated, cross-jurisdictional approach is essential if Australia is serious about scaling up circular construction.”
To that end, the Productivity Commission has recommended that the federal government set up a Circular Economy Regulatory Reform Taskforce with state and territory governments to promote regulatory reforms and harmonisation.
“Circular economy practices thrive on collaboration and coordination. Government can help join the dots to develop new and innovative circular practices,” Chong said.
“While many Australians are seizing the opportunity to make better use of materials, overall our progress has been slow. With the right approach to policy and regulation, we can support progress towards a more efficient and sustainable economy.”
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