Industry Updates for Queensland's Waste Management and Materials Recovery Sector
Waste Recycling Industry Association (QLD) inc (WRIQ)
Representing waste, resource recovery & circular economy businesses - we are essential for community & environment.
WRIQ Workforce Breakfast, 3 February
Register now for the Future of Workforce Breakfast on 3 February in Brisbane.?Speakers from Ronan Analytics will present the WRIQ industry workforce survey results from Q4 2022, while the Industry Skills Advisor and RSL will describe how they are engaging with employers, small businesses and industry to provide high quality, evidence-based advice and intelligence around current and emerging industry direction, regional skills needs and training solutions, jobs growth and employment opportunities.?For more details see the flyer, and register through humanitix.?
Tour of Cobotics Centre, 7 February
Queensland’s advancing manufacturing industry has the potential to take the human and machine interface to new and exciting levels. It will require a collaboration between experienced workers welcoming young, energetic and spirited Queenslanders on a journey into the future.
Join?Jobs Queensland?and the?Australian Cobotics Centre?as they share some exciting good news stories from Queensland manufacturers about their advancing manufacturing journey and illustrate the opportunities and challenges faced by manufacturing organisations as they progress toward Industry 4.0.?The tour is on 7 February (2pm), Northgate.?For more details and to register go to the webpage.
Circular Economy Outcomes in Decline
Last week, The 2023 edition of think-tank Circle Economy’s circularity gap report?was published (16 January) to coincide with the start of the World Economic Forum’s summit in Davos, Switzerland. The report is produced as part of a collaboration with Deloitte.?Concerningly, it reports that only 7.2% of the 100 billion tonnes of virgin natural materials used each year make it back into the economy after their first use, down from 9.1% in 2018.?While the report notes that humanity’s use of natural resources has held fairly steady, at 100 billion tonnes per year; it forecasts an increase to 170 billion tonnes by 2050 on a business-as-usual course.
The Circularity Gap Report 2023 identifies four key global systems accounting for the majority of emissions and waste – the built environment, food systems, mobility and transport, and manufactured goods and consumables.?The report then outlines 16 circular economy solutions across these systems to reverse the current overshoot, thus reducing impacts and limiting global warming to below two (2) degrees.
UK Report Links Circular Economy Outcomes to New Zero
Published on 13 January, the UK’s Independent Review of Net Zero?(Mission Zero) by the Rt Hon Skidmore.?The Mission Zero report clearly aligns the net zero agenda with circular economy outcomes, with one of the report’s 25 recommendations ‘to launch a task force to work jointly with industry to identify barriers and enablers and develop sector-specific circular economy business models for priority sectors’. The report also noted the damage that inconsistent policies and a lack of coherence across Government was having with regards to implementation of resource productivity, with little effective cross departmental governance, which was eroding confidence to the sectors that will drive real change and develop green skills.?
Kick-Starter Grant – UQ Agri-Food Innovation Alliance
Expressions of Interest for the Industry Kickstarter grants are now open and will close on Wednesday 1 February 2023.?The Industry Kickstarter grant is offered by UQ Agri-Food Innovation Alliance to help academics and industry conduct co-created and collaborative research that will have a clear pathway of impact within the agrifood sector and provide the partnership with impactful research to leverage further external funding.?Grants of up to $30,000 are offered to successful applications for projects of up to 1 year duration.
If you do not have a UQ academic partner, submit an Expression of Interest with your project idea and we will help you find a suitable academic from UQ.?Your academic partner will work with you to submit an application, prior to the closing date Tuesday 28 February 2023.
Updates to the Australian Apprenticeship Priority List
The Australian Apprenticeship Priority List identifies priority occupations for the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System. An updated Priority List has been released?with a range of new occupations, and also now identifies occupations that align to the needs of the Clean Energy sector.
Australian apprentices/trainees working in one of the identified clean energy sector roles, may be eligible for a New Energy Apprentices Support Payment. Employers who engage an apprentice or trainee in a Certificate II qualification (any occupational outcome) or in a Certificate III, Certificate IV, Diploma or Advanced Diploma qualification (in an occupation not included on the Priority List), may be eligible for a Hiring Incentive of up to $3,500.? There are a range of other incentives for both employers and apprentices/trainees. For more information, see:
There is also more information on other Queensland Government employer incentives on the Business Queensland website.
Consultations
Collection mechanisms for Potential E-stewardship Regulation
The Australian Government has announced its intention to develop a regulatory product stewardship scheme for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and small electrical and electronic products (e-products). The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is seeking initial views from key stakeholders prior to undertaking a public consultation process on this potential regulation.?The consultation paper focuses on the collection mechanisms for potential PV systems and e-product stewardship regulation (e-stewardship). The department will separately seek feedback on options for scheme targets, including access and collection targets. Initial feedback on this paper will inform the public consultation process which will take place in the first half of 2023. Please contact [email protected] for a copy of the consultation paper.?Feedback can be provided in writing by COB Friday 3 February 2023.
?Australia’s ReMade Brand
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water are working on a ReMade in Australia brand, which aims to promote Australian made recycled content products.?A discussion paper seeking feedback on the brand’s design is now live on the department’s Have Your Say webpage. The paper outlines potential rules products would meet to be eligible for the brand, as well as key feedback the department has heard in consultations and our November 2022 workshop series on the brand. The discussion paper will be open for comment until COB 10 February 2023 and you can provide feedback by answering a short survey on the proposed rules or by responding to the paper with a written submission. Please send feedback to [email protected]
?Reforming the Safeguard Mechanism
The Australian Government is consulting on a proposed approach to reforming the Safeguard Mechanism. The reforms will help industry reduce emissions in line with Australia’s climate targets. Consultation on the changes closes 24 February 2023. The position paper outlines the proposed approach on:
·??????The Safeguard Mechanism’s share of the national emissions reduction target
·??????Setting baselines for existing and new facilities, including the rate of decline
·??????Arrangements for issuing and using Safeguard Mechanism Credits
·??????Access to flexible compliance arrangements. These include access to credits, offsets, banking and borrowing arrangements, multi-year monitoring periods and a cost containment measure
·??????Tailored treatment of emissions-intensive, trade-exposed facilities.
Feedback is also sought on the draft subordinate legislation including:
·??????National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Safeguard Mechanism) Amendment (Reforms) Rule 2023
·??????Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment (No. 2) Rules 2023
·??????Australian National Registry of Emissions Units Rules 2023
Expanding Queensland’s Container Refund Scheme
See the proposal to expand the containers that are eligible for a refund under Queensland’s container refund scheme. The link to the public survey and the discussion paper is:?Proposal to expand the container refund scheme | Environment, land and water | Queensland Government (www.qld.gov.au).?Please also note that a cost/benefit analysis is currently being prepared and will be released by the end of January 2023.?Consultation closes on 20 February 2023.
?NEMP V3 for PFAS
The Heads of EPAs of Australia and New Zealand (HEPA) have released the draft per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances National Environmental Management Plan (PFAS NEMP) version 3.0 for public consultation. This version 3.0 contains important new guidance and standards, which builds on version 2.0 published in 2020.?You can use this?form?to answer questions, upload a document, or both.?Consultation closes 28 February 2023 at 4pm AEDT.?